The Way We Were
by JackHoldenLuva
Summary: After 8 years Seth returns home to find that things have changed dramatically. Can they ever go back to the way they were? SS,Minor RM
1. Chapter 1 The Return

A/N: Ok so here's my new fic called: The Way We Were, its what would have happened if Seth didn't return for the new school year, I hope you like it, please review

Disclaimer: I own the O.C on DVD but that's as close as I'll ever get, so don't sue

Chapter 1

She remembered it as if it were yesterday, truth was it had happened 8 long years ago, she looked slowly and carefully at her son: Jacob Seth Cohen, who was sleeping soundly on his bed. Every time she heard one of his friends yell: Hey Cohen, or Kirsten calling him Seth she would think about him and they time they had spent together. Summer Roberts wasn't one for regrets but over the past 8 years things had changed dramatically.

For starters she wasn't Summer Roberts anymore, she was Summer Daniels, wife of Todd Daniels; one of the richest men in Newport and that right there was her biggest regret- marrying Todd, he wasn't a bad man, he was just never there, he was always working and when he wasn't he was spending time at the gym or in his office for countless hours on the computer etc. He and Summer hardly ever saw each other.

She found herself spending more and more time at Marissa and Ryan's place. They lived in the old Cohen house. Which held so many memories for Summer. Kirsten and Sandy had given the mansion to Ryan a few years ago and they had moved to a smaller place. Summer and Jacob basically lived in the pool house and Todd didn't even seem to notice. Last week they had filed for divorce but nothing seemed to be happening on that front. Both were preoccupied, Todd with work and Summer with Jacob.

Not that Jacob particularly cared. He was 8 years old and hated Todd. He hated him for not caring about his mother and he hated that Todd wasn't his father. Not that he'd ever actually seen his father but Uncle Ryan and Aunty Marissa and his grandparents told him all different stories about Seth Cohen and every night before his mum tucked him in she told him stories about his Dad traveling to exotic locations and one day returning with mountains of presents for Jacob and mountains of love for Summer. All right so she never actually said that but he could tell that was all his mum really wanted. The way her eyes lit up slightly, before slowly filling with tears every time someone mentioned his name. The way she sometimes cried at night looking at her only photo of him.

He wished more then anything that his Dad would come back one day, everyone else had a Dad. Bridget did- Uncle Ryan was the coolest ever and she was so lucky that he was her Dad. She also had Aunty Marissa and even though she wasn't her real Mum everyone acted like she was. He loved living with Aunty Marissa, Uncle Ryan and Bridget. He was so happy when Mum told him they would be living there starting Saturday. They had already moved most of there stuff and everything was awesome….

Summer spoke softly to Bridget as she walked into the pool house in her pick and blue pajamas

Summer: Shhh Bridge, Jay is asleep

Bridget: Ok

She whispered into Summer's ear as she sat in her lap

Summer: Why are you still up babe? Does your Dad know you're in here?

Bridget: Yeah, he told me to ask you if you want a Coffie, he said if you do then come inside now

Summer: Ok, lets go Jay will be fine he's out like a log

She stood up carrying 8-year-old Bridget in her arms. Ryan smiled as Summer walked in holding Bridget

Ryan: Bridge, bedtime come on

Bridget: Ok Dad, night Mum, night Aunty Sum

Ryan took her hand and led her upstairs leaving Summer and Marissa alone in the kitchen

Marissa: So is Jay asleep?

Summer: Yeah, he's out for the night

A knock at the door ended their conversation

Marissa: It's late who could this be?

Summer heard the door open and Marissa let out a shriek, which sent Ryan running down the stairs

Ryan: What's up?

He asked concerned, Summer shrugged

Summer: Someone's at the door

At that moment Marissa walked back into the room with a huge grin on her face. Summer dropped her mug and stared hard at the figure in front of her. Ryan stood still, then suddenly ran up to his 'brother' and hugged him for the first time in 8 years. He smiled and patted Ryan on the back.

He looked the same to Summer, except for the little facial hair, the increased height and the slightly shorter 'Jew fro'. The room went quiet as he and Summer stared at each other, she didn't know what to do or say. She didn't bother to hide the tears as they silently slid down her face. Millions of questions running through her mind, questions that she never thought would be answered. She had dreamed of this moment since the day he had left and finally he was here, standing in front of her. Seth Cohen was back.

xxCassiexx


	2. Chapter 2 The Feelings

A/N: Wow, what can I say I really didn't think that I would get that much of a response, but thanks I love opening my inbox and seeing reviews so keep them coming, thanks again and I know you all probably have a lot of questions but don't worry they will all be answered in good time, anyway Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the O.C

Ryan gestured for Seth to take a seat, sensing that Summer wasn't ready for confrontation- yet. He sat on a stool and Ryan and Marissa followed suite

" So how have you been man? Where have you been man?"

Seth laughed at Ryan's question

" Nowhere, everywhere really"

He answered, his glare never once leaving Summer. The more she looked at him the more her anger built up and she knew she'd burst some time soon. There was silence before Marissa asked the question everyone was dying to know the answer to

" Why didn't' you ever come back, and why now after 8 years?"

" Crap, is that how long I was asleep for?"

In true Seth Cohen style he tried to lighten the mood with laughter. Ryan and Marissa both cracked smiles

" Umm I'd really rather not talk about it now, I mean there will be plenty of time for catch up later"

Marissa nodded and then looked at Summer

" Come on Ryan, let's get to bed"

Ryan followed her upstairs but before he left he called

" Its good to have you back bro"

Summer stared at Seth- evilly then exploded and everything she had been feeling came out

" How dare you?"

" What?"

" How dare you waltz back in here like nothing's changed after being gone for 8 years? 8 fucken years Cohen, what the hell were you thinking? Why the hell did you run? Why the fuck didn't you ever come back? And why now huh? Why choose to come back now? What do you want from us? Forgiveness? Well you sure as hell aren't gonna get that from me. So tell me Cohen what the hell were you thinking when you left? And why the hell haven't you come back sooner? You screwed us all; did you ever stop to think how your leaving would affect everyone? Your parents? Ryan? Marissa? ME?"

She paused for a second and Seth thought she was finished but then…

" Or was it all about you? Oh poor Seth, Ryan leaves so you know what I'm gonna be a stupid prick and leave too, well boo fucken hoo Cohen, your not the only person to lose someone you love. Millions of people have been through it before you. I trusted you Cohen, I told you things that I never even told Coop. I trusted you not to leave me, you promised me you wouldn't leave cause you knew that everyone in my life before you had left and you knew it would destroy me to have one more person betray me"

Once again she took a breath and stared hard at Seth before continuing

" So why Cohen? Why the fuck did you leave? And I want the truth I deserve the truth"

Seth looked at the floor and sighed before deciding to speak

" The truth? Well the truth is I was scared Summer, Ryan was the first real friend I ever had and he left me. He told me we'd be friends forever, brothers for life, but when he left that day he took our pack with him. After 4 years I knew I couldn't come back, I knew that it just wouldn't be right to turn your life upside down like that. Then last week I woke up and I looked around and I realized that I was sick of running, that I just wanted to go home, I thought you'd forget about me, I thought you would just give up hope- I guess you didn't"

" How could I when a piece of you, of both of us was in my life everyday that you weren't

" What?"

" Our son Cohen, the son that when you left me behind you left him behind too, the son that every night asked me to tell him stories about you, forcing me to relieve memories I thought I'd never have to visit again and the son that look exactly like you, Jew fro, dimples, eyes, the lot. How could I forget you when I had a mini Seth Cohen staring me in the face day after fucken day?"

Seth was shocked, he didn't know what to say, he just couldn't believe it

" I never knew Summer, I never knew, if I had I would have come back sooner, I promise you that

" Yeah well your promises mean shit to me Cohen, I can't believe anything you say"

" I understand that, I'm gonna go, I guess I'll come back tomorrow and see….?

" Jacob, Jacob Seth Cohen, and don't bother leaving, your room's still the same you should stay here, after all its still your house"

" Ok, thanks, night"

" Night"

They both walked off, in different directions, but…

" And Summer?"

" Yeah?"

" I really am sorry"

" I know"

She whispered as she watched Seth walk up the stairs, she walked out of the kitchen and into the pool house. She lay down on the bed next to Jacob and stroked his hair

" Daddy's home Jay, and nothing's ever gonna be the same again"

She lay back and slowly fell asleep, dreaming of the simpler times with Cohen

xxCassiexx


	3. Chapter 3 The First Day

Disclaimer: The O.C belongs to Josh, not me so don't sue

He woke up and slowly studied his surroundings. Everything was basically the same, a few things had been moved here and there, but even though things still seemed the same, somehow everything had changed. He was a father, he had been one for 8 years without even knowing it and that right there was what hurt the most, knowing that he had missed 8 years of his kid's life and his only excuse was that he didn't know.

He had to admit Summer had gone easy on him, he had expected more then a few minutes of yelling, he had imagined kicking, punching and screaming. Bu he didn't know Summer anymore, she was completely different, still as beautiful as ever but personality wise, she was different and he didn't blame her, with motherhood brought change and he had been expecting that.

He walked downstairs to find a little girl with long curly brown hair and the bluest eyes ever eating breakfast. He sat next to her and she smiled

" Hi"

She said

" Hey"

" I'm Bridget, who are you?"

" I'm Seth, umm is Ryan your dad?"

She nodded

" Then I guess that makes me your Uncle Seth"

" So your Jay's dad?"

" Yeah I guess I am"

" Where have you been all this time?"

" Lots of places

" But why did you leave?"

" I was young and stupid"

She giggled

" What?"

" Well don't tell my dad that I told you but last week I heard Aunty Sum and Mum talking and Aunty Sum said that she loved Seth, she always would, was she talking bout you?"

Seth smiled

" Yeah I guess she was"

" Do you love her?"

" Yeah… I don't know…. I think so"

" But Dad said dat when your married dat means you only love that person, no one else and you spend the rest of your life loving that person and so I asked how can Aunty Sum love you if she's married to Todd? And den he said dat's different"

Seth's heart almost stopped beating when he heard those words. He knew that Summer would eventually move on but somehow he had always held hope, deep in his heart that she would wait for him, I know how selfish does that sound right?

" Sum, Summers m, mar, married?"

" Ah huh, but she is getting divoiced"

" Divorced?"

" Yep, cause Todd is never there for hers when she needs him and she don't love him, she don't even know why she married him

Seth breathed a sigh of relief

" So how do you know all this stuff anyway?"

He asked, reaching for the Pokemon cereal in front of him

" I like to listen, I just sit back and watch and hear what peoples do"

" Oh, so what's ahh Jacob like?"

" He looks like you, he has the same hair and eyes, he's fun to play with, he's my bestest friend in the whole world

" Cool, but what's…"

He was cut off by Ryan walking down the stairs and sending Bridget on her way up them, she waved to Seth before leaving

" She likes you"

He said, Seth shrugged

" We need to talk"

" Bout?"

He asked through a spoon of cereal, Ryan stared him straight in the eye with his reply

" Summer"

A/N: So that was just a quick chapter, hope you liked it and thanks for the reviews

xxCassiexx


	4. Chapter 4 The Warning

A/N: Hey guys just a few things to say before I write. Firstly to Kursk, yeah Bridget is Theresa and Ryan's daughter and secondly to Laura, when you said the grammar did you mean when Bridget was talking? Because she's only 8 so she can't pronounce everything properly yet. Anyway, here's the next bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own the O.C so please don't sue!

Ryan led Seth into the living area and gestured for him to sit

" So what's wrong?"

Seth questioned

" Not much, I just want to say that you cant come back and expect to be forgiven immediately and everything to be the same, cause its not and it never will, you've been gone 8 years, a lot has changed"

" I know and I never expected things to be the same, I know it'll never be the same, no matter what happens"

" What does that mean?"

" Nothing, I'm just saying I was surprised last night at Summer's reaction I mean I was expecting much worse not just a couple of minutes yelling from Summer"

Ryan grinned as if he knew something Seth didn't

" She's changed a lot man, she's had to, she's more patient that's for sure she doesn't get angry as easy so for us that was pretty huge I mean I haven't heard her yell like that for years"

" Oh, well I'm sorry I mean I offered to leave but Summer said I should stay"

Ryan didn't miss the slight smile on his face

" That doesn't mean anything, well not what you're thinking anyway, she's married bro"

" I know, but I also know that there getting divorced and that she doesn't love him… she still loves me"

" Bridget exaggerates a lot"

" What she told me was the truth, I can tell, just like I could tell with you"

" I didn't say it wasn't true cause I know it is but Bridge tends to tell things as in what she wants to hear, its like she adds her own little bit to the story"

" So what did she add?"

" Well I'm not sure in this case but I hope you don't think that just because Summer still cares about you that everything's gonna be the same as it was before cause its not and I want you to promise me that you wont hurt her, look I know Summer and I know that she'll probably give in and do something with you but I need you to promise that you'll control yourself"

" I can't promise that, I love her, I always have and if she wants something who are you to stop her from getting what she wants?"

" Excuse me? I have more right then you buddy, I'm the one who's been here all along, I'm the one who was here for everything, I'm the one who has the right to say what's best for Summer cause I'm the one who's been here…"

At that moment Summer walked in and it was obvious that she heard the end of the convo

" Thanks Ry, but I can take care of myself, I don't need you to protect me, I can make up my own mind about what I want and what I need so would you just back off please?"

" Sorry, I'm just trying to help"

" I know thanks but no thanks, can you take Jacob to school with Bridge?"

" Sure, is he outside?"

She nodded as Ryan walked out leaving Summer and Seth alone

" I've gotta get to work, but I guess I'll see you later on"

" Yeah, cya then"

" Thanks Cohen"

" For what?"

" Defending my honor, Ryan's sweet but I don't need him to protect me"

" I know, hey what do you do anyway? Fashion Designer?"

He half joked, until she nodded and he burst out laughing

" Don't knock it, it pays well, bye"

She walked out the door leaving Seth alone, thinking and knowing that nothing would ever be the same again

xxCassiexx


	5. Chapter 5 The Reminder

A/N: So once again thanks for reviewing and I know you all want to see Seth and Jacob meet but well your gonna have to wait a while, don't worry you'll see why soon and to Agel 15 who asked how come Bridget was living with Ryan? You'll find out in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C

Seth was in the kitchen at 3:00pm, waiting for Ryan to get back with the kids, he couldn't wait to meet Jacob. Ryan walked into the kitchen followed slowly by Bridget

" Hi uncle Seth" She said happily

" Hey Bridge… ahh where's Jacob?"

" He's at his friend's house tonight, Summer promised him that he could sleep over and Summer never breaks her promises"

Seth sighed

" Relax man, you'll meet him tomorrow" Ryan said with a pat on the back

" Yeah I know" He replied

" Hey Uncle Seth can we play something? Cause me and Jay usually play games on Friday's but he's not here"

" Yeah why not, Hey Ryan have we still got the PS2?"

" Nah we've got the PS3 now, it's basically the same just better graphics"

" Cool, come on Bridge"

They walked into the living area and sat on the floor. Memories of all the times he, Ryan, Summer, Marissa, Anna and even Luke had sat there together playing play station suddenly flooded into his mind and he found himself smiling fondly. He pulled the controllers over and they started to play. A fighting game just happened to be in there

" Now Bridge don't feel bad, but prepare to die"

" Nah uh, I'm really good"

Seth laughed, " You may be good but I am the Master and no one beats the master"

He started to play and occasionally he would tickle Bridget to break her conversation. When Summer walked in half an hour later Bridget was on top of Seth tickling him to death

" I win!" She yelled as she went to hug Summer

" This is not over little miss" He replied

" I didn't think you'd wanna play me again cause you'd be afraid of losing…. Again"

Seth laughed " Oh that is it"

He grabbed her and chucked her on the couch tickling her until her face was covered in tears. Summer laughed and jumped onto Bridget as well

" No…stop it…" She pleaded through giggles

" Alright you deserve a break"

" Your turn Aunty Sum" She yelled

They both tickled Summer until she was on the floor laughing and begging for mercy. Bridget pulled back and ran into the kitchen when she heard Marissa call. Seth and Summer lay back, both laughing. Their heads, hands and legs were touching. Summer loved the sensation she got from touching him

" She amazing" Seth commented

" I know" She replied

" She's the exact opposite of Ryan, open, friendly and happy"

" Yeah she is"

Summer smiled and suddenly before either of them knew it she had grabbed Seth's hands and wrapped her legs around his. It was like the old days, when they had just lazed around not caring about anything, occasionally having sex and talking

" Do you remember this?" Summer asked

" Yeah" He replied

" I missed it" She said sadly

" Me too, I'm sorry"

" I know…. you know what else I missed?"

Seth shook his head 'No'

" This"

She whispered as she got on top of him and kissed him, their first kiss in 8 long years, it was the best kiss either had experienced, so much passion and sexual tension was in that kiss. It started slowly but soon enough it was getting hot and heavy. It was only when Summer started to unbutton Seth's shirt that they stopped, Ryan's conversation weighing on his mind

" Summer we can't…."

" Why?"

She questioned, disappointment written across her face, it was obvious she had been hoping for more then just a kiss

He looked around

" Oh yeah, I guess I just forgot everything for a minute their"

" Me too"

It was then that Marissa's voice came from the kitchen

" Summer can you come here?"

Summer fixed herself up before walking into the kitchen, leaving Seth with a huge grin on his face. Seth sighed, knowing that what had just happened was just a taste, just a reminder and he wasn't getting away that easily, not that he wanted to anyway.

xxCassiexx


	6. Chapter 6 The Catching Up

A/N: Hey guys just wanna say one thing before I start, this is to Kennie, just cause Summer kissed Seth doesn't mean that she's forgiven him, like she said she just misses him. Anyway I just wanna give a shout out to: englishchik, Kennie, Svocfanatic, doves30, summerbreeze171, auggy1984, age115, Kursk and iHEARTme. This chapter is dedicated to you guys, thanks for reviewing.

Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me

Summer and Bridget walked into the living room, where Seth and Marissa were playing the Play Station. Summer raised her eyebrow at Marissa

" What? I was bored, Ryan's somewhere and you had Bridget"

" It's fun isn't it mum?" Bridget said excitedly

" It sure is sweetheart" She replied

" So tonight…" Summer said, getting into the conversation

" Tonight what?" Marissa asked

" Sandy and Kirsten… the Lighthouse… your Dad, ring any bells?"

" Is that tonight? Shi…oot, shoot! Jacob's missing out"

" I'm sure he doesn't mind," She said with a smile

" We better get ready, we've only got 2 hours"

They both left the room

" What's tonight?" He asked Bridget

" Grandpa and Grandma are having a party for Grandpa and Aunty Hailey's andivosary"

" Anniversary? How many years?"

She held up 4 fingers " 4 years they been married"

" Oh, I guess I should go, I mean mum obviously doesn't know I'm back yet, I guess it'll be good to see them again" He said more to himself then Bridget….

It was 1 and a half-hours later and they were supposed to have left already the limo was waiting outside. Summer was already out there so Seth hadn't gotten a look at her yet. Finally Marissa walked down the stairs followed slowly by Bridget

" Wow you look gorgeous babe" Ryan mused

" Thanks, you look handsome as usual" She replied

Marissa was wearing a long elegant blue dress that brought out her eyes, her hair was down and slightly curly and she had a cute little handbag to match. Seth and Ryan were both in their tuxes

" I'd forgotten what it was like wearing these things, and how uncomfortable they are," Seth said

" Well it's a least once a week around here"

Seth laughed, " I guess some things never change"

" Yeah I guess so," Ryan said with a smile

They walked out and Seth picked up Bridget as they went

" Do I look pretty Uncle Seth?"

" You sure do babe, I didn't wanna say anything before because your mummy was there and I didn't want to make her feel jealous," He said mischievously

Bridget giggled " Thanks Uncle Seth, you look really nice as well but I didn't wanna say anything cause I didn't wanna make Daddy feel jealous"

" Good thinking" He replied with a grin

They entered the limo and slid in. Summer was sitting patiently right up the back. Seth moved in real close to her

" Finally" She said

Seth was speechless, she looked beautiful. Her hair was (like Marissa's) slightly curly and her make up was smoky which made her look sexy but not sluty. She wore a red strapless dress that was just below her knees: she was the picture of perfect in Seth's eyes

" You look so…. Amazingly beautiful Summer, I'm speechless, you look gorgeous"

She blushed

" Thanks"

Bridget looked on jealously at the way Seth looked at Summer

" Uncy Sethhhh, you said I looked beautiful" She whined

" You do babe, but so does Aunty Sum and Marissa" He replied smoothly

All three girls smiled at Seth as the limo began to move

" I mean to ask Ry, why did the folks move out?" Seth asked, making conversation

" Wanted a smaller place, they gave the joint to me a few years back" He replied

" Oh and ahh what happened with ahh Theresa? If you don't mind me asking," He continued

" She told me that Bridget was Eddie's baby so I came back to Newport then 7 months later I found baby Bridget on the door step with a letter explaining Bridge was mine and that she wanted me to take care of her, I never heard from her again after that" He finished sadly

" I'm sorry" Seth whispered

" It's fine…"

The rest of the journey was spent with Bridget telling stories mostly, but finally they pulled up at the restaurant and they all pilled out, none of them, especially Seth expecting what was about to happen next.

xxCassiexx


	7. Chapter 7 The Fallout

All right this chapter is for: summerethryrissa, britney123, Agel15, Svocfanatic, roserows, Kennie, alexis, summer-breeze171, Kursk, doves30 and auggy1984, thanks for the reviews guys, please keep them coming

Disclaimer: I don't not claim any rights to the O.C

As the gang entered the candle lit room a tall good-looking man approached Summer

" Todd, what are you doing here?" Summer yelled

" We have to talk Sum" He replied just as loudly

" About?" She questioned

" Us baby, us" He said moving closer

" There is no us anymore Todd, you ruined that when you spent every hour of every day working or avoiding me or both"

" I know and I'm sorry for that but I really do love you Summer and I've realized how stupid I was to not spend every moment with you, so what do you say baby? How about a second chance?"

She slapped him- hard, " You arrogant son of a bitch, how dare you come back now and try to make me forgive you? You never loved me, I was just there you know as a trophy, as your trophy so you could brag about me to all your so called friends and show everyone that Todd Daniels cared because he had a wife, well I'm not your wife anymore Todd, were over, don't come anywhere near me again"

With that she ran into the bathroom followed by Marissa and Bridget. Seth walked up to Todd

" Who the hell are you?"

" Seth Cohen"

" Jacob's Dad?" He inquired

" Yeah" Seth replied confidently

" I cant believe I'm finally meeting Seth Cohen, your all Summer ever talked about, how much she loved you, how much she wished you'd just come back and save her from a life with me, she doesn't know I heard her prayers and her tears but I did and that's why I never committed to her, you are the reason we never worked because you were too much of an arrogant prick to come back and face the music, well: Welcome back to Newport, bitch"

He yelled before punching Seth in the jaw. Seth recovered quickly and hit him in the nose, Ryan had also rushed in to try and stop the fighting but Seth didn't stop

" This is for hurting Summer you asshole, this is for not appreciating her every fucken day that you spent with her as your wife…."

Ryan finally managed to pull Seth off Todd and dragged him outside

" Get off me man" Seth yelled

" What the hell man?" Ryan yelled letting him go

" I don't know what happened bro, I just started hitting him and then I couldn't stop, just knowing the way he treated Summer I don't know I guess I felt I had to protect her you know, be her knight in shining armor" He finished some what lamely

" But that's just it man, she's not yours to protect, you two aren't together anymore, you were only a couple for what 3 months? Your not her knight Seth and you never will be" Ryan said, his voice now raising to a yell

" What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why are you getting all pissed at me for?" Seth yelled

" Obviously you didn't understand our conversation before, because your acting like nothings changed, your acting like were still in High School, well you know what man were not?"

" Whatever, I don't have to take this, I don't have to listen to this…."

He began to walk away

" Go on little boy, run, its what you do best" Ryan yelled

" What's your problem Ryan? You've been on my case ever since I got back?"

" Because I'm sick of you acting like a fucken kid, you've got to grow up, you've gotta start being a man and you've gotta face up to your problems and not just run at the first hint of trouble"

" You have no clue Ryan, you don't know what it was like for me, no one does, do you know what its like to fear going home? Do you understand that I couldn't come back because I knew you'd all act like this, just give me a break man, I know I shouldn't have left but why punish me for something that's been and gone? Just get the fuck over it Ryan!"

This time he did walk away, he walked back into the building to find all eyes on him but slowly all the gazes left him and he realized that as much as he wanted things to be the same they weren't, Ryan was right, nothing would ever be the same again.

xxCassiexx


	8. Chapter 8 The Start of Something

Sorry for the lack of updates, but schoolwork has overloaded again so I've been busy but I'll try to get at least one up every week. Thanks so much for the reviews guys, they really mean a lot to me, I just have a few things to say before I write though, I know some of you are thinking that just because Summer and Seth have kissed that she's forgiven him but she hasn't, this story has so many twists and turns of Seth that you just have to wait and see what happens because things will change a lot, sorry if you didn't understand that.

This chapter is dedicated to: Agel15, Lucie Brody, theocfanatic2005, summer-breeze171, britney123, Alexis, nefftys, Svocfanatic, Kursk, auggy1984 and doves30, you guys rock

Disclaimer: The O.C is not mine, nor will it ever be.

Kirsten was sitting next to Seth as he told her what had happened. She had screamed the place down when she found out he was back. Tears had streamed down her face as she mad him promise never to leave again. She had hugged him and kissed him for what seemed forever, not letting him out of her sight

" So where's Dad?" Seth asked curiously

" I think he's outside, so tell me Seth, what happened with Ryan?" She replied

He explained what had happened as Marissa finally appeared and approached them

" So you and Ryan aren't talking?" Kirsten asked as Seth finished the story

" Well I'm not talking to him, he was way outta line, I mean he's acting like a fu… sorry stupid 5 year old" Seth half yelled

" Summer wants to talk to you in the other room Seth" Marissa told him

He got up and walked into the other room, Summer was sitting on a step looking at him. He smiled and she gestured for him to sit

" Thanks" He whispered

She nodded in response " But I should be the one thanking you"

" Huh?" He questioned

" Well I heard that once again you defended my honor, you know with Todd"

Seth shrugged " I do what I can"

Summer smiled " You always manage to cheer me up when I'm down Cohen"

" I try Summer," He said with a grin

" Todd's a jerk and I'm sorry that you had to deal with that, I'm sorry for dragging you into my crazy mixed up life," She said with a sad smile

" You didn't, besides I would've found my way in eventually cause I always manage to…. Can I ask you something Summer?" He inquired

" Sure"

" Why did you marry Todd? And tell me the real version, not the decorated made up one" He said matter of factly

" I was scared of being alone for the rest of my life. I was so down, I was at my lowest point, and the only thing keeping me going was Jacob. I hadn't really been with any one since you so when this handsome and charming guy came into my life I just let him charm me, I really liked him cause he was the exact opposite of you and I fooled myself into believing that I loved him and that I wanted to spend my life with him. I figured if I couldn't have the best –you- then I might as well settle for second. It seemed logical at the time, but as soon as I began to walk down that aisle I knew I was making the biggest mistake of my life, I mean for me its always been you, ever since I realized I loved you, its always been you" She whispered, the tears running down her face

Seth leaned over and used his thumb to wipe away the tears. She looked into his eyes and he grinned, knowing that Summer loved him and that maybe, with time things would work out. He kissed her softly on the lips then she grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer, shoving her tongue down his throat for the second time that day. She ran her hands through his curly brown Jew fro and they were really getting into it when a knock sounded at the door, they sprang apart as the door opened and in walked Marissa

" I'm so sorry guys….ahh I didn't mean to interrupt or anything but ahh, they're about to make the speeches," She said awkwardly

Summer stood up and began to walk out but before she left she whispered into Seth's ear

" We'll finish this later"

Seth sat their for awhile until he heard the microphone go on outside. He got up and made his way in. He stood next to Kirsten and Marissa as Jimmy Cooper spoke

" Thank you all so much for being here tonight, it really means a lot to me and Hayley so thanks again all and please enjoy"

Everyone clapped as he walked off stage. The night wore on and Ryan and Seth stood on opposite ends of the place not looking at each other. Sandy still wasn't anywhere to be seen and Summer was talking to Kirsten by the drinks table. Finally all the guests began to leave. Seth, Summer, Marissa and Ryan (who had a sleeping Bridget on his shoulder) entered the limo. Ryan stroked Bridget's hair never once looking at Seth, and Summer rested her head on Seth and closed her eyes. As the limo pulled up outside the house they all hopped out. Marissa said her goodnights and went to join Ryan. But Summer, instead of retiring to the pool house followed Seth to his room, wanting to talk, or so she said.

xxCassiexx


	9. Chapter 9 The Realization

Thanks for the kick ass reviews: Kate, doves30, Agel15, Svocfanatic, auggy1984, alexis, Summer-breeze171, britney123 and Kursk, you guys are the best and also to Kate, yeah my pen name is from Home and Away, its one of my favorites shows and I love Kirsty and Kane. Also I know your all waiting for it, the Jacob/Seth meeting will be in Chapter 11, so look out for that one.

Disclaimer: I don't own the O.C and I never will so please don't take any legal action

Seth loosened his tie and chucked it on the floor

" Damn, its good to get that off, I forgot how bad they were"

Summer smiled

" I cant wait to meet Jacob tomorrow, I hope he likes me" Seth said with a sigh

" He'll love you, he's always wanted to meet you, he wont care about all the other stuff" She reassured him

" I hope so"

" So you and Ryan aren't talking huh?" She asked

" Yeah I guess not" She replied

" I'm sorry," She said sadly

" Its not your fault Summer, Ryan's just had it in for me ever since I got back"

" There's more to the story then you know Seth"

" Huh?" He asked, looking confused

" Well ahh, you see….after you left, me and Ryan got close and I mean real close, he helped me with Jay so much and well Marissa was off god knows where and well we kinda became more then friends, we didn't do anything, if you know what I mean, when I say anything, it only lasted a couple of days, we decided that we would be better as friends"

Seth was stunned, never in a million years would he have thought Summer and Ryan would have been together, he shuddered at the thought, he just couldn't get hi head around it

" But if it ended ages ago, what has it got to do with now?" He asked

" He's still really protective of me, he worries that I'm gonna go off with you and live happily ever after which means that he'll never see me and Jay again and he really doesn't want that to happen" She whispered, some what shyly

" I have no intention of taking you or Jacob away"

Seth managed to say through his now slowly building up guilt. Now after what Summer had said he finally got where Ryan was coming from

" Well maybe you should tell him that," She said with a grin

" Yeah maybe" He replied

Summer watched him in silence as he took off his jacket and his pants. He was left in his boxes and white top after only a few seconds

" Summer I….."

" Seth I….."

They both started at the same time. He nodded for her to go first. She moved closer to him

" I've missed you so much Seth and right now I want you- so bad" She said

" I want you too" He replied sheepishly

" So what's stopping us?" She asked

" Everything, I think Ryan was right your confused about what you want because your so happy to have me back, you don't know what you want, I just…. I just don't want you to regret anything later"

" Right now I do know what I want, I want you to throw me on that bed and fuck my guts out, I want you so bad it hurts you just thinking about it, and how could I ever regret anything that's happened with us" She whispered in a sexy voice

" So…." He started

" So…." She finished

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a raunchy kiss. Summer jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. They knocked things over in their attempt to get to the bed. They were about to strip off their clothes when a knock sounded at the door. They stayed in their position of Summer sitting on Seth as he lay on the bed

" Who is it?" He yelled

" Its me Uncle Seth, can I come in?" Bridget whispered through the door

" Shit" Summer cursed to herself

She got off Seth and straightened her self up before opening the door

" Oh, hi Aunty Sum, what are you doing here?" She asked curiously

" Uncle Seth and I were just talking," She said with a blush

" Ok"

She walked in and sat on the bed next to Seth

" So what's up babe?" He asked

" I can't sleep" She replied

" Why's that?" He questioned

" Cause I hate seeing my daddy upset" She replied, matter of factly

" He's not upset," He said

" Yes he is, cause u and him had a fighted and now your not talking and he feels real bad for going off at you"

" Really?" He asked, with a shocked look in his face

" Can I stay with you tonight?" She asked in a small voice

" Sure babe, you lay down while I say night to Aunty Sum"

" Ok, Night Aunty Sum" She said, sweetly

" Night, sweetheart" Summer replied

She kissed Bridget on the head and walked out of the room followed by Seth

" So I guess we'll finish this later" He said, gesturing to the two of them

" Yeah, night"

She kissed him on the cheek before walking off. Seth walked back into his room and turned off the light. He hopped into his bed and wrapped his arms around Bridget's tiny torso. She snuggled into him and he relaxed, realizing that he liked having Bridget with him in his bed, His. Bed, it felt good to say that and actually mean it.

He had expected sooo much different than what he'd received when he had returned. He had to admit he was shit scared about coming back but for some reason felt it was the right time, he liked being back in his room, he liked being back with his family, but most of all he liked being home.

xxCassiexx


	10. Chapter 10 The Real Story

This chapter is probably the longest I've ever written and it took me awhile to write, I hope you like it. Thanks for replying: Agel15, Doves30, Svocfanatic, Summer-Breeze171, auggy1984, Alexis, Kursk, actcohen, britney123 and music4mysoul. This one is dedicated to you guys

Disclaimer: It's not mine! It all belongs to Josh

The next morning Seth was up at 6:30am, Bridget was gone but Seth assumed she had gone back to Marissa and Ryan. Summer was picking Jacob up at 8:30, so he had 2 hours until he met his son. He was excited and scared all at the same time, he couldn't wait to meet his son and hopefully start getting to know him but he was also nervous about the fact that maybe he would just dismiss him because he was never there until now.

The fight with Ryan was also still weighing heavily on his mind, which was making him feel, guilty, upset and even angry. So he walked downstairs at about 6:45 to get some breakfast. He was expecting the place to be dead at 6:30 in the morning, so when he walked into the kitchen to find: Summer, Marissa and Bridget already awake he was a little bit shocked. They were all smiles as Seth walked in

" Morning" He said

They all nodded except for Marissa who managed a small reply "Morning"

" Where did you disappear to babe?" He asked Bridget

" I woke up at 6 o'clock then went back into Mummy and Daddy's room"

" Oh, can you pass the cereal Sum?" He asked her as he took a seat at the island

She nodded then passed the box to him, their hands touched in the process and Summer found that Seth was shaking. She smiled slightly, knowing what was wrong

" Relax Seth, he's gonna love you, I promise" She said smoothly

" Sorry, I guess I'm more nervous then expected" He replied

" Look Seth, all Jacob talks about is meeting you one day, when I spoke to him yesterday he said that he cant wait to meet you" Marissa quickly reassured him

" So he knows I'm here then?" Seth asked to no one in particular

" Yeah he rang last night and **someone,** let it slip," She said, staring intently at Marissa

" Sorry" She said with a grin

" Anyway, where's ahh Ryan?" He asked bluntly

" He went to Kirsten and Sandy's about 20 minutes ago" She replied with the same tone

" Oh, why?" Seth asked curiously

" He's helping them set up for the party tonight" She said

" Geese, another party, what's it for this time?"

" You, it's a welcome home party" She grinned at Seth

" What? Why is Ryan helping then?" He questioned

" You know what Ryan's like Seth, actions speak louder then words with him," Marissa exclaimed

" So does that mean his sorry?" Seth asked hopefully

" Yeah, I guess" She replied

There was a couple of second's silence in which Seth took a mouthful of cereal, before suddenly remembering what it was he wanted to say

" Where was Dad last night?" He asked

Summer and Marissa exchanged glances

" What? What don't I know?" He asked, now entirely confused

" It would take years for me to answer that question Cohen" Summer said, sweetly

" Very funny Summer, good one really it was"

He held out his hand for her to slap but just as she was about to he pulled it back

" Not, now tell me" He demanded

" Well lets just say he's not exactly your biggest fan at the moment" Summer finally answered the question

" What do you mean?" Seth asked, clearly confused

" He's angry with you Seth, that's why he avoided you last night and that's why he's probably gonna avoid you again tonight and if you ask me why he's made at you, I swear I'll kill you" Summer confessed

" I'm not that dumb Summer," He said with a grin

" Well you sure had me fooled" She flirted back

" Funny Sum, your all laughs this morning aren't ya, geese anyone would think you got lucky last night"

He smirked at her and she gave him a glare but then smiled

" Yeah I sure did" She replied

" What? Sum? Spill" Marissa ordered

Summer gave her a look " I'm joking Coop, I mean who would I do it with anyway?"

" Well I mean I can think of someone" Marissa replied with a smirk

She glanced at Seth who was now explaining the concept of the new video game they had brought to Bridget

" Well let's just say, we'll talk later" Summer whispered

" So what are you saying?" Marissa questioned

" I'm saying that we'll talk later, ahh its 7:00 o'clock I gotta call Jeremy

" Jeremy?" Seth asked, suddenly taking interest in the conversation once again

But he was asking Marissa for Summer had just grabbed the cordless and left the kitchen

" He's her client at the moment, she's designing his bride's wedding dress, he's really possessive, like scarily possessive, he calls her at all hours and even comes over sometimes, he wants his wedding to be perfect, which means the clothes have to be perfect" Marissa offered

" Oh, poor Summer" Seth said

" Yeah more then you know, I mean it's usually the girl obsessing not the guy so that makes it weirder"

" I guess it would be" Seth said, casually

" But I have to admit when he's not obsessing he's really nice" Marissa admitted

Seth nodded

" Momma?'' Bridget asked softly

" Yes sweetie?"

" Why does Aunty Sum always talk to Jeremy?" She questioned, innocently

" Well cause it's her job honey, Jeremy pays her to make clothes" Marissa replied

" Oh, hey Uncie Seth?"

" Yes Bridge?"

" Well last night when me and Aunty Sum was speaking to pop he told Aunty Sum to be careful with you cause you've hurted her before, why did you hurt Aunty Sum? I thought you liked her?" Bridget said in that same innocent tone as before

" I'll leave you to it Seth"

Marissa said exiting the room, Summer was about to go back in until Marissa walked past and whispered

" You might wanna hear this Sum"

So Summer stood still and listened

" Well…. Its ahh…. Complicated" Seth admitted

" But I really wanna know why you hurted Aunty Sum" She demanded

" Ok….. (he paused) Its not like I just woke up one day and said ' you know what, today's the day I'm gonna hurt Summer, I didn't do it intentionally, I would never hurt Summer intentionally, I love her and that's never gonna change, but I was stupid and young and miserable, you see your Dad, well he was my best friend, for awhile my only friend and he's basically the whole reason Summer noticed me in the first place and when he told me he was leaving I was devastated and I thought that when he left everything would go back to the way it was before he came and I'd lose Summer and I just couldn't handle that so I left and that's how I hurt Aunty Summer"

He wiped a single tear from his eye. Bridget jumped off her stool and hugged Seth- tightly, he laughed

" I love you Uncle Seth"

" I love you too Bridget" He replied with a grin

Summer wiped the tears away and ran over to them, joining in on the hug, she looked straight into Seth's eyes and finally she understood, finally she knew the truth, which meant that she could finally start forgiving him

xxCassiexx


	11. Chapter 11 The Meeting

A/N: Ok so this is the one most of you have been waiting for; Seth meets Jacob for the first time! I hope its not disappointing; it took me awhile to write cause I've had a bit of writer's block. There's not much Jacob in this one but don't worry you'll get to know him in the future! Also I don't want you guys to worry about Jeremy…yet, I'm not really sure if he's gonna play any major parts but I guess we'll see hey.

Anyway, this one is for: alexis, goldenflower, britney123, summerith, Agel15, Jay, Lucie Brody, Svocfanatic, SSfan, Cill, music4mysoul, Kursk, doves30, Summer-Breeze171 and auggy1984. Thanks for the awesome reviews!

Disclaimer: The O.C is not mine, it all belongs to Josh!

" Ok, so I'll be back in like 20 minutes" Summer said slowly to Seth

" Yeah, cool, great, awesome, cya then" He rambled

" Cohen! Seriously how many times do I have to tell you to chill out?" She whined

" I just can't believed I'm about to meet my son" He exclaimed

" Well believe it" She replied

" Umm about before…" He started

" Its cool, I know what you meant and I'm glad that I heard your side of the story cause it's really helped me understand," She explained

" Oh, good, well I'll see you soon I guess"

" Yeah bye…."

She walked to the door but just before she walked out she finished her earlier sentence with

" …Dad"

Seth grinned as she disappeared but he guessed or rather hoped that he'd have to get used to it. He walked into the kitchen and sat down, waiting…

He heard the car pull up, and he heard the car doors slam, he heard the keys turning in the lock but still he stood rooted to the spot. Bridget ran eagerly past him and he moved to the door and watched as she wrapped her arms around a boy, he was basically the same height as her. Seth could see a mini curly Jew fro but that was about it. He stepped out of view and smiled as Summer entered the room followed by Bridget and finally Jacob

" DAD!" He yelled almost at the top of his lungs

He ran up to Seth and jumped into his arms. He hugged him tightly and Seth hugged back eagerly. A few tears slid down Summer's face as she watched father and son embrace. Jacob leaned closer to Seth and whispered into his ear

" I love you Daddy"

Seth felt like crying, his son, HIS SON! He felt like screaming it out for everyone to hear. He had never been this happy his entire life. Seth carried him out of the kitchen, followed by Bridget. Summer stood in the kitchen, deciding to give father and son a chance to bond…

1 hour later Summer walked into the living room to find, Seth, Jacob and Bridget in front of the play station. She gestured for Seth to come with her. He whispered something to Jacob, who turned around and waved at Summer before Seth joined her

" So…" She asked, when they were out of earshot

" He's amazing Sum, we talked for ages and you were right he doesn't hate me, he told me he loved me and he loves boats, which is…awesome cause I love boats and I thought it would be awkward and weird but its not, its great and I love it" He finished with a grin

" I knew you would, anyway I just wanted to tell you that were eating lunch outside by the pool in like an hour and a half"

" Ok, thanks"

He started to walk away but when Summer didn't follow he grabbed her hand

" Come on" He gestured to the play station

" I can't stay, Jeremy's coming over in like 10 minutes," She told him

" Oh, well ok then" He said, some what disappointed

He let go of her hand and went back to the living room. Summer sighed, and then went upstairs to Marissa and Ryan's room. She knocked and entered when she heard Marissa yell

" Come in"

Marissa was sitting on the bed and Ryan was standing near the window looking out at nowhere in particular

" I just wanted to tell you guys that Jeremy's coming over in 5 minutes and umm I was wondering if we could talk Riss?"

" Sure, lets ahh go outside" She said

" Ok" Summer replied before leaving the room, but not without one last glance at Ryan

They waked down the hall to Bridget's room. They sat on the bed

" What's up with Ryan?" Summer questioned

" I'm not sure, but I think and hope its just the whole Seth thing" Marissa replied

Summer made a mental note to go and talk to him later

" But what's up with you?" Marissa asked

" Not much, I just wanted your advice on something" Summer explained

" It's about Seth isn't it? And speaking of Seth, spill girlfriend" Marissa fished for information

" Nothing happened. We were making out when Bridget knocked and lets just say that if she hadn't knocked things would have gone a whole lot further"

" Oh, so does that mean you and Seth are together again then?" Marissa asked hopefully

" I don't know, I mean its confusing, I think its gonna take awhile" Summer told her

" Oh" Marissa seemed disappointed

At that moment the doorbell rang and both girls hopped up

" Thanks Marissa, we'll talk soon, I promise"

They parted in the middle of the hall with Summer taking the stairs and Marissa entering her bedroom. When Summer got to the door Jeremy was standing there with Jeremy

" Summer, there you are" He exclaimed

Jacob raced off as Jeremy walked inside

" Jeremy, good to see you again" She smiled at him

" I'm sorry about this Summer but my bride to be wants everything perfect for this day and well I just really had to show you these new designs for little Paige- the flower girl" He told her

" It's fine, umm come through to the kitchen"

They walked into the next room and sat down at the table. But as soon as Jeremy pulled out the papers, Seth ran in with Jacob on his shoulders and both were screaming loudly. They ran to the fridge until Seth suddenly noticed Summer, he quieted Jacob

" Sorry Sum, thought you were in the other room" Seth apologized

They backed out of the room with Jacob in hysterics laughing

" Who was that?" Jeremy asked curiously

" That's Seth Cohen, Jacob's Father" She replied

" Oh right, well Jacob deserves a father I mean god knows he's been pining for one long enough" He said matter of factly

" Yeah he does, he really does"

Summer smiled as Jeremy began to talk once again

xxCassiexx


	12. Chapter 12 The Truth

A/N: Sorry about the mistakes in that chapter but I really wanted to get it up before I left the house so I didn't have time to check it over. This one is for: Alexis, 2good4u, Kursk, FateGirl, Doves30, auggy1984, goldenflower, summerith, britney123 and Svocfanatic.

Disclaimer: The O.C is not mine

By the time Jeremy had left Lunch was on and everyone except for Ryan was gathered at the back. Marissa said that he wasn't feeling well. They laughed and talked all through lunch and had a really good time. Everyone was enjoying themselves. But when they were done Marissa retired to the kitchen, Seth and the kids went into the pool house and Summer grabbed a plate of food and went up to see Ryan.

She knocked and waited a minute but he didn't say anything so she just walked in. He was still standing by the window staring out when Summer approached

" Hey Ry, I ahh brought you some food" She said

" Thanks, not hungry though" His tone was cold and bitter

" Why are you mad at me?" She questioned

" I'm not" He replied

" I know you Ryan and I know when your mad at someone so right now I know your mad at me" She told him

" Why don't you just go and ask your precious Seth, he's got all the answers right?" He said in the same cold tone

" Whoa, where did that come from? I thought you were over the Seth thing"

" Yeah well maybe I'm not" He spat at her

" Could you look at me Ryan? Could you look at me and tell me what this is really about," She practically begged

He finally turned around and looked her straight in the eye

" Fine you wanna know what this is about? Well just remember you asked for it. I find it funny how for 8 years you've mourned Seth you've cried over him, you've yelled over him and you've even resisted moving on with anyone because of him and I seem to remember a conversation that we had a few weeks ago about you telling me you were finally getting over Seth and then he turns up and you yell at him for like one second, even though he left you, even though he was too cowardly to face up to his problems, even though he caused you so much pain and you just forget all that, the minute he flashes you a smile you fall straight into his arms again.

I don't get it Summer, I don't get what the hell your so obsessed with about Seth, I mean come on you didn't even know he existed until you were in junior year, so tell me Summer how is it that one minute its Cohen who? Then the next minutes he's all you think about and he consumes your every thought for 8 fucken years?"

A silence followed that, but not a stunned one for Summer had been expecting this ever since Ryan and Seth's fight

" You done" She asked somewhat calmly

" Yeah"

She took a deep breath, preparing to fight back

" I know that I was a bitch in High School and I know that Cohen wasn't even on my radar until you showed up, but when we got together I loved him, I loved him more then life itself and I wanted to be with him forever. You cant honestly tell me that you don't still care about Theresa because I know you do, I see it in your eyes every time you look at Bridge, well that's exactly what its like for me. Every day that I looked at Jacob I thought about Seth and how happy he's made me in the time we were together. Because as much as I tried to deny it I was miserable before Seth came along. I mean sure I played the role of the sluty girl who was always smiling but inside I was dying. For once in my life I just wanted someone that would love me for me, not just someone who wanted to get in my pants, and when Seth came along I knew straight away that he was different and so I put my wall down, the wall that I had spent 16 years building up and I let him in and I knew that my life would change forever.

You don't understand Ryan, you don't know what its like to lose the one person you love, to lose the person that can make you smile even when your feeling like crap and the person that you trusted, when you lose that person you'll always hold out hope that one day they'll come back even though you know that its probably never gonna happen"

Tears were streaming down Summer's face and Ryan looked on guiltily

" Summer I'm so…." He started

" Save it Ryan" She spat back

She ran out of the room and into the one next door, which just happened to be Seth's. He was lying on the bed when she entered but hopped up the minute she rushed in

" Summer hey…. What's wrong?"

" Cohen" She whispered before rushing into his arms. He protectively wrapped his arms around her and began stroking her hair gently

" I'm so sorry Cohen, I love you," She murmured into his shirt

" Shh Sum, its gonna be ok" He tried to comfort her

" No you don't understand, I love you Seth"

" I love you too Sum" He offered

She looked up at him and smiled through the tears, and even though Mascara was running down her face and her hair was a mess to him she had never looked more beautiful. So he leaned down and kissed her, she responded by kissing him back. But when she pulled back he took her hand and laid her on the bed, then he snuggled in next to her and together, in each other's arms, they fell asleep…

xxCassiexx


	13. Chapter 13 The Promise

Wow you guys rock, thanks so much for the awesome reviews: Alexis (I know you like being first!) britney123, italhunni28, Svocfanatic, actcohen, Lucie Brody, Summer-Breeze171, oc obsesseee, Kursk, PrincessSparkle09, goldenflower, Seth Ezekiel, Agel15, 2good4u, Doves30 and auggy1984.

Disclaimer: Its not mine so please don't take legal action!

Seth woke before Summer. He looked at the clock, which told him it was 3:30pm so they had 3 hours until they were due at his parents place. He hopped up and walked out of the room, slowly so as not to wake Summer. But before leaving he stood at the door just watching as Summer's chest rose and fell. She looked so peaceful, so angelic and Seth just couldn't believe how lucky he was, Summer loved him, even though she was upset and people tend to say stuff they regret later when there upset it still meant the world to him. He started the trek downstairs, thinking that maybe, just maybe they could someday be a real family.

Jacob and Marissa were playing cards at the table when he entered

" Hey guys, what you playing," He questioned

" Fish, hey is Mom awake yet?" Jacob chanted

" Huh? How did you know she was asleep?" Seth was intrigued

" Me and Bridge and Aunty Marissa went into your room and saw you two asleep. Aunty Marissa said that you guys were spooning" Jacob grinned as he said the last past

" What are you teaching these kids Marissa?" He joked

She laughed

" Yeah Jay, she's still up there" He told Jacob

" Ok, I'm gonna go see her" He replied. Seth ruffled his hair as Jacob ran out of the room

" So what happened?" Marissa asked eagerly

" Nothing happened, she came in and was crying I don't know what about and then I hugged her and she told me she loved me and then we lay down and fell asleep"

" Wait, back up, she told you she loved you?" Marissa was stunned to say the least

" Yeah but she was upset, you know Summer she'll probably deny it later" He grinned at that statement, remembering that High School year

" So…" She started

" So what?" Seth was confused

" So what did you say" She cleared things up

" I told her that I loved her too of course" He replied

" Oh, that's good I guess" Marissa smiled

" Yeah, anyway is Ryan still up there, I wanna talk to him, you know apologize for last night" Seth grimaced, remembering the fight

" Yeah go up," Marissa said

" Ok, thanks" He replied

He walked out of the room and back up the stairs, feeling a little better about the situation after talking to Marissa. He knocked on the door and waited. After a couple of seconds Ryan called

" Its Open"

Seth walked in and the first thing he spotted was the plate of food on the table. He walked up behind Ryan and spoke

" So I know this guy, who feels like a complete jerk for going off at his brother last night and he's really hoping for forgiveness, you see he's just come back from the middle of nowhere and he hasn't seen the people he loves for years and well sometimes he gets really screwed up and well…. I'm really sorry Ryan, you were right as usual" Seth finished

Ryan turned around and cracked a half smile

" You can tell that dude that he's forgiven, on one condition though" Ryan responded

" What would that be?" Seth asked

" That he promises to forgive his brother for totally overreacting and also for getting totally smashed at his home coming party" Ryan said with a grin

Seth laughed

" You wont have to worry about that man cause I'll be getting drunk off my face as well" Seth responded

He grabbed Ryan by the shoulders and they walked out of the room together. It was then that Seth remembered what Summer had said earlier

" And Ryan"

"Yeah" Ryan responded

" I just want you to know that I'm not trying to take Summer or Jacob away from you, I'd never do that" He said truthfully

" I know" Ryan replied

They continued walking but as they passed Seth's room Ryan suddenly remembered

" Hey bro, I've gotta talk to Sum, I'll catch up to you later" Ryan told him

" Ok" He said, making his way down the stairs

Ryan walked into Seth's room to find Summer on the bed with Jacob

" Hey guys, umm Jay do you reckon that you can go downstairs and play with your Dad for awhile while I talk to your mum?" He asked hesitantly

" Ok Uncle Ry, Cya Mommy" Jacob replied

He hugged her before exiting the room. Ryan sat on the chair next to the bed and swallowed before starting. He was nervous, he knew that his words had really hurt Summer and he really hadn't meant to blow up like that, but he just couldn't keep it all inside anymore, it was gonna happen sooner or later, Ryan just felt bad that Summer had to have been the one on the receiving end

" So I am so sorry about before Summer, I mean I never meant to go off at you like that but well, you know me, I always keep this shit bottled up and I knew that eventually I'd burst and I'm really sorry that it had to be at you" He said sincerely

Summer took a minute before replying " Its ok Ryan, I understand, but I have to admit you really scared me, I mean I've never heard you speak so much in one go before" She finished with a grin

Ryan chuckled

" You were always a kidder weren't you Sum?" He said jokingly

" Yeah, come on lets go downstairs"

They got up and began the walk. When they were almost in the kitchen Ryan stopped

" Just for the record Sum" Ryan began

" Yeah" She questioned curiously

" I hope you and Seth end up together, you deserve it," He said pleasantly

" Thanks Ry" She mumbled

As they hugged Seth walked in

" He I wanna hug too you know" Seth said with a smile

Ryan laughed and walked off before shouting " She's all yours bro"

Summer looked at him and smiled

" So where's my hug?" Seth questioned cheekily

" If you come here I'll give you more then a hug" She replied flirtatiously

Seth raised his eyebrow but walked over to Summer nonetheless. She kissed him, slowly at first but she got more passionate as tongues became involved. Soon Summer was pushed back against the dishwasher and Seth's hands were roaming

" I want you Seth" Her voice came out huskier then usual

He pulled back for a second and looked into her eyes

" You mean it?" He asked hopefully

She nodded

" Tonight after the party, I'll come up to your room"

" Well I had planned to get extremely drunk with Ryan, but this works too" Seth replied with a grin

Summer laughed, then she kissed him once more and walked away

" You can just leave me hanging like that" He whined

" Tonight Cohen" She whispered

Seth smiled as she walked out of the room. Tonight was the night, the night he made love to the girl of his dreams over and over, just like he'd dreamt about for the past 8 years. ' This is gonna be the longest party ever he thought to himself'

xxCassiexx


	14. Chapter 14 The Family

A/N: This chapter is for: Alexis, Summer-Breeze171, britney123, Svocfanatic, PrincessSparkle09, piperleo4eva, Doves30, Seth Ezekiel, music4mysoul, ItalHunni28, Lucie Brody, bfan2good4u, auggy1984, goldenflower and Kursk. Thanks for replying guys, you are the best! Here's the next bit I hope you like it

Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me

Seth grabbed Jacob's hand and together him, Summer, Ryan, Marissa and Bridget walked into the new Cohen house, which Seth had to laugh at. It was only a little bit smaller then their old house. In fact some would say there was no difference at all. They spotted Kirsten and all said their hellos but still no Sandy

" You look so hot tonight Summer" He whispered so know one could hear

She smiled " Patience Cohen" She whispered back before walking off to mingle with the other guests

" Where's Grandpa?" Jacob asked openly

" He's outside Jay, you can see him later" Kirsten answered

" Ok, hey Dad do you wanna meet my bestest friend?" Jacob questioned eagerly

" Sure where is he?" Seth asked

" Come on"

He pulled Seth along with him until they came across…

" Luke?" Seth was a tiny bit shocked

" Cohen, my man, I was wondering when I would see you, Hey Jacob, Dylan's over there" Luke told the little boy

" Can I go play Dad? Please?" Jacob begged

" Sure, but just stay where we can see you" He replied

He ran off and Luke smiled at Seth

" What?" Seth questioned as Luke stared at him

" Nothing, it's just strange isn't it, you know how easy it comes" Luke stated some what mysteriously

" What's that?" Seth was confused

" Worry" Luke provided

It was Seth's turn to smile " Yeah, I guess it does, anyway what's your story?" Seth asked

" Well I moved to Portland then like a couple of weeks later I ended up knocking up Kelly, who is now my wife by the way and well at the time I thought that my life was over but when Dylan was born and I saw him man I just knew that my life hadn't ended, it had only just begun. Seriously Dude, being a Dad is like the coolest thing ever" Luke laughed at his ending

" Yeah I know, so Jacob and Dylan hey?" Seth raised his eyebrow

Luke grinned " Yeah it's actually a funny story, when D was about 5, me and Kel decided to move back to Newport and well I went past the Cohen's old place to see Ryan, Maris and Sum and well Jacob was there and Dylan kinda just ran up to Jacob and they started talking and within minutes they were inseparable" Luke finished some what lamely

" That's awesome dude, but I don't see how that's funny" Seth acknowledged

" Well Bridget walked in and saw that Jay had a new friend and well she got kinda jealous cause she felt ignored and ahh she punched Dylan in the face" Luke said

" What? She was 5 at the time right?" Seth was shocked; Bridget didn't seem like the violent type

" Yeah I know, but I guess it's true what they say like father like son, only in this case its like father like daughter, but their all friends now so its cool"

" Geese, I'm sorry I missed that" Seth's expression turned to sadness

" Yeah, you missed a lot man" Luke responded

" Don't I know it, I don't think people actually realize how much I regret not being there, you know, I just wish that I had known I cant believe Summer had to go through everything alone"

" Well she wasn't alone man, she had Marissa, Ryan, Your folks and even Todd" Luke was quick to reply

" Yeah I know, hey you seen my old man anywhere" Seth inquired

" Nah sorry" Luke's answer was short and quick, making it sound suspicious to Seth, but he decided not to push it

" So I guess I'll cya around" Seth said

" Yeah cya dude" Was Luke's response

Seth walked off, Jacob trailing slowly behind. They walked back over to Kirsten who took Jacob outside. Seth went over to the bar and ordered a drink. He took a sip and turned around, banging into someone

" Sorry….Dad!" Seth was surprised, he didn't think that he would be talking to his Dad today, he thought that he was just gonna avoid him again. To Seth he looked exactly the same; expect maybe a couple of wrinkled here and there. Seth smiled seeing the eyebrows and remembering all the jokes, he, Ryan and his Dad had shared

" Seth, I was beginning to wonder when I would see you again" Sandy exclaimed

" You and me both" Seth replied

" Lets go outside and talk," Sandy suggested

" Ok"

They walked outside and sat on the pavement by the pool

" So I didn't see you at the light house yesterday" Seth began the conversation

" I was avoiding you" Sandy Cohen was never one to not be frank

" Why?" Seth questioned, although he thought he already knew the answer

" Why do you think son?" Sandy retorted

" Ok, so I may have a slight idea why, but can you just talk to me and tell me the problem" Seth was beginning to sound somewhat desperate

" There's no problem" Sandy replied, simply

" But everyone's been telling me to watch out because your pissed at me" Seth countered

" I was… but I've had some time to think and I talked to Ryan and he calmed me down"

" Oh, look Dad I'm sorry I know that I was stupid to run away, I know I should have been a man and faced Newport but you gotta understand how much life really sucked for me before Ryan came along and I wrongly assumed that once he left things would be the same as before and I was sick of being treated like crap, I mean how are you supposed to go back once you've experienced the other side?" Seth didn't mean for it to come out in a pleading sense but it did

" I understand, but if you ever and I mean ever run away again just understand that you will no longer have a place in this family, you are lucky that you even have one now" Sandy made his intentions clear

" Believe me Dad, I know that" Was all Seth could manage

" Good, lets get inside then"

They walked inside and up to where Ryan and the others were standing. Seth smiled as did Sandy, and together the 8 of them stood their, finally a real family.

xxCassiexx


	15. Chapter 15 The Way We Were

A/N: This chapter was hard for me to write so I really hope you guys like it, even though it's probably not what you were expecting. Ok so this one is for: Alexis, Ellynne, Rachel, Seth Ezekiel, music4mysoul, Svocfanatic, kittotterkat, PrincessSparkle09, Summer-Breeze171, goldenflower, Kursk and auggy1984.

Also to Seth Ezekiel: Yes Jacob did/does call Seth Dad because Seth is his Dad!

Disclaimer: The O.C is not mine

Ryan and Seth were in the corner; each had a glass of something in their hands. It was obvious Ryan was drunk, but Seth however, was still on his feet

" I don't think I've ever actually seen you drunk bro" Seth commented with a laugh

" Whats are you talkin bout? I aint drunks" Ryan slurred, Seth sighed and helped Ryan over to Marissa

" So listen Maris, we've gotta get Ryan home- now, he's major drunk" Seth told Marissa while still supporting Ryan

" Well you can't leave, the party is for you" Marissa responded

" Umm if you haven't noticed Marissa no one has made any effort to speak to me, it's obvious there only hear so they don't look bad, there not here for me, there not here to welcome me back with open arms" Seth told her honestly and bluntly

" Ok, lets go then" Was Marissa's response

" I'll get Jay and Bridge and meet you guys in the car" Summer joined the conversation

" Ok, hey I'm gonna say bye to the folks" Seth told her

" Ok, I'll get Ryan to the car" Marissa said, walking off

Seth walked over to the bar where Kirsten and Sandy were sitting

" So were gonna head off, Ryan's not ahh feeling too well" Seth told them

" Ok sweetie, we'll drop past tomorrow to see you all" Kirsten replied

" Ok bye Mom, Dad"

He walked off and was joined by Summer and the kids at the door. They all hopped in the car and Jacob jumped in between Seth and Summer, resting his head on Summer's lap and his legs on Seth

" So Dad did you get to see Dylan?" Jacob asked eagerly

" Nah sorry mate, I guess I'll have to meet him some other day" Seth responded

" He's coming over tomorrow so you can meet him then" Jacob countered

" Cool, Ryan you ok dude?" Seth questioned

Ryan was half asleep, he looked like he was gonna sick any second. He nodded before yelling " I think I'm gonna be sick, pull over"

Marissa obeyed and Ryan shoved the door open and hopped out. Inside the car everyone could hear Ryan being sick

" What's wrong with Daddy?" Bridget asked innocently

" Its ok sweetheart he's just feeling a bit sick, like remember last week when you had the flu and you were very sick" Summer offered

Bridget nodded " Well I hope he gets all better"

" Don't worry babe he'll be fine by tomorrow" Seth told her

At that moment Ryan re entered the car. His eyes were blood shot and he still had vomit on his mouth. He quickly wiped his face, shut the door and collapsed on the chair

" Eww" Was Jacob's reaction

Seth laughed " I can't believe my son just said eww, now that is scary"

" Oi, I take offense to that Cohen" Summer said

The rest of the journey was spent in basic silence with a few comments here and there. Seth helped Marissa drag a now asleep Ryan inside and upstairs and then helped put Bridget and Jacob in bed. He walked into the kitchen unnoticed and stood in the shadows on the stairs while Marissa and Summer talked

"…. So that's why he wanted to leave the party so early" Marissa gasped, finally understanding

" Yeah, do you think I'm stupid Coop?" Summer asked, a somewhat desperate tone in her voice

" Why would I think that?" Marissa questioned, not quite understanding where Summer was going

" I don't know, maybe Ryan was right, maybe…maybe I'm stupid for letting Seth back in, I mean can I ever really trust him again?" Summer was confused

" Whoa Sum, where's this coming from? Earlier today you were saying how much you wanted him and how maybe you were starting to forgive him," Marissa stated

" I know, I'm just so confused, I mean yeah I want him- so bad, seriously you don't even know how bad, I cant stop thinking about him, but then I think about everything I went through without him and I feel hurt and used and I don't like it, I don't know what to do Maris, I think I need to sleep on it" Summer said, genuinely tired

" But I though that…." Marissa started

" I've waited 8 years, what's another night or two gonna do, could you just give this to him when he come down?

Marissa nodded as Summer walked outside. Seth waited a minute before entering. And even though he knew that when he received what ever it was Summer was giving to him, it would break his heart he plastered on a smile and bravely walked down the rest of the stairs

" Hey Marissa, where's Summer?" He questioned, as if nothing was wrong

If he didn't already know Marissa's face said it all " Here" Was all that she could muster as she passed him what looked like a note. He smiled politely as Marissa walked past him and up the stairs. He unfolded the paper and read:

Seth,

Look I know that I promised you that we'd… you know tonight but I'm sorry I just cant…not yet anyway, you understand right? I just, I'm finding it hard to let you back in, I remember everything we went through and I don't regret any of it, the year Ryan arrived in Orange County was the best and the worst year of my life and listen I know your sorry I really do but…. I cant go back and just pretend that none of it happened, I cant pretend that you were here when I know you really weren't, I cant go to that place just yet, I need time and space to think and just to…I don't know what else, all I know is that I'm really sorry and I want you to know that this isn't the end of us, far from it, I wish I could go back, I really do but the truth is we'll never be like The Way We Were.

Sorry XxSummerxX

The tears were clearly visible on his face, even in the dim light of the kitchen, he walked back upstairs and into his room and as he grabbed the duffel bag from under his bed he knew that he wouldn't regret what he was about to do….

XxCassiexx


	16. Chapter 16 The Decisions

A/N: Come on guys, I wouldn't do that to you, that would be way too cruel. Just relax and read this next chapter.

Thanks to: Alexis, Seth Ezekiel, auggy1984, brieg, music4mysoul, OcObsessed, Doves30, nefftys, Svocfanatic, fanfiction fan, PrincessSparkle09, ItalHunni28, bfan2good4u, goldenflower, piperleo4eva, Keshia and Lucie Brody for the reviews, you guys are the best.

Disclaimer: The O.C does in no way belong to me!

He was crying and she couldn't figure out why, she tried to reach out to him but every step she took towards him he seemed to get further and further away. 'Seth' she screamed at the top of her lungs but he never looked up, he never seemed to here….

Summer sat up with a start, the dream… it had seemed so real and this wasn't the first time she had had it. As she stood up and looked around she suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something was wrong but she didn't know what. She looked down expecting to see Jacob but remembering that he was in Bridget's room tonight, she looked at the clock: 1:30am. She walked towards the door of the pool house and looked into the main house, a faint light was shining so Summer decided to investigate. As she climbed the stairs and saw which light was on she couldn't stop her heart from beating so fast. She didn't bother to knock, she just walked in. She looked him straight in the eye and then saw the bag at his feet; he had been leaning over the desk obviously writing a note of some sort. She sighed with disappointment not really believing that he would do this to her again

"Son of a bi…" She started

"Whoa hold on Summer, just let me explain" Seth cut her off, hoping she would give him a chance to explain

"Let you explain? LET YOU EXPLAIN? Why the hell do you keep doing this, you promised, you promised you wouldn't do this to me, to our son, he looks up to you, he loves you so much how do you think he's gonna feel when he wakes up and his Dad is gone with only a fricken note, why the hell do you always think a stupid note is gonna replace you? We don't want a note, we just want you, why can't you understand that?" This time she wasn't yelling, she was crying.

Seth looked down, he hated seeing Summer cry, and he hated that he was the reason that she was in so much constant pain; he had convinced himself that he was helping her. He gulped before replying

"I'm not leaving Summer, well not how you think I am anyway, I got your note and your right I just came back and into your life and didn't even give you any time or space and when I read your letter it made me realize that maybe I shouldn't be staying here… in this house I mean, maybe I should stay somewhere else so I can still be in your life without suffocating you"

Summer was quick to respond, " Your not suffocating me Seth, that's not what I meant, I… no one in this house wants you gone"

"I'm not gonna be gone, I'll be in a hotel somewhere, you can all still visit, I'm not running away Summer, I'm just… I just don't think I should live here, you know" Seth tried to reason with her

"Your not leaving Seth, that's not what I wanted, its not what anyone wants, please don't go, you can stay here and give me space you know. Its Summer holidays you can take the kids out with Ryan while I work, it's a big house, we don't have to be around each other all the time" Summer pleaded

Seth sighed, secretly thinking things over, he really didn't want to stay at some stingy motel, he wanted to be near his family, Jacob, Bridget, Ryan, Marissa and most of all Summer but he always felt like he was getting in the way, he was gone 8 years, they had lives now, lives that somehow didn't involve him

"Summer I…" He started

She grabbed his bag from the floor and held it away from him

"Your staying Cohen" She demanded

And even though she was just a tiny little women he knew she meant business, he knew that was her 'on the verge of a rage blackout' tone. He grinned

"Ok ok, I'll stay," He said, giving in

"Good, well goodnight" She left room, she was convinced that he wouldn't leave

"Night" He whispered back, only she was gone, no one was there….

The next morning Seth awoke with a start and looked at the clock next to his bed: 11:30am, he saw the bag at his feet and remembered last nights events. He got up slowly, placing a tee over his naked chest. He couldn't believe he had slept to 11:30, he didn't even know how long it had been since he'd done that. He was used to being up early for work and at first he hated it but after awhile he just got used to it, Tyse, his friend and roommate was the one who slept in for ages. He looked around again, just thinking, thinking about how different things were here. He had only been back a few days but it did feel like he had never been gone, well in his mind anyway. He couldn't believe that this time last week he'd been living in….

At that moment Jacob ran into the room breaking his train of thought

"Your finally up Dad, Dylan's been her for ages, were playing hide and seek" Jacob stated happily

"Hey little man, you should have woken me up" Seth told him

"Believe me I was ready to, me and Uncle Ryan was gonna wet you but then Mom caught us and said not to cause you'd had a long night and cause you looked so cute asleep" Jacob said, making a vomit face

Seth grinned at Jacob "Aww that's sweet" He said, sarcastically

"Not really, me and Uncle Ry were guessing what you most look like and he said a Beaver but I'm still thinking you look more like a monkey" He said, laughing his head off

"Funny, real funny"

He grabbed Jacob and started messing with his hair and tickling him but stopped after awhile

"So Ryan's cool then? No hang over?" Seth asked curiously

"He's fine, said he has a little head ache but that's bout it' Jacob told him

"I've always envied Ryan for being able to hold his liquor so well, but really that's not the only thing I envied I mean look at the bloke I mean its so…."

Seth's rambling was interrupted as a miniature boy about Jacob's size with blonde hair and freakishly green eyes ran into the room, Seth assumed this was Dylan

"Found Ya" The little guy yelled

"Nah uh, I was Baliese, cause I was talking to my Dad" He said holding up his 2nd and 3rd fingers which were crossed " Hey Dad, this is Dylan, my bestest mate"

"Hey Dylan" Seth said

"Hey, my Dad talks about you sometimes, he told me this story about some guy named Rooney" Dylan finished, a confused look on his face

Seth laughed " Yeah I remember that, good times"

"Ok Dad, Mom and Aunty Maris are downstairs, me and Dylan are gonna keep playing, we still gotta find Bridget" Jacob told him, as if finding Bridget was the most important thing in the world

"Ok, have fun, bye guys"

Seth walked out of the room as the two boys ran down the hall, As Seth entered the kitchen Summer grabbed his arm, leading him into the TV room

"You have to find Bridget, like now," She stated firmly

"What? Why?" Seth was confused

"Just cause, believe me, find her and talk to her, please" Summer voice was pleading and he just couldn't refuse

"Ok" He agreed

As Summer walked outside he went back up the stairs and started the search for Bridget, all the while wondering, wondering what could be wrong.

XxCassiexX


	17. Chapter 17 The Misunderstanding

A/N: I'm glad that you all liked that chapter, I've had a bit of writers block recently so I'm not entirely happy with this chapter and I'm not sure when the new chap will be out. Sorry that it has taken me longer than usual to get this one out but yeah like I said writers block.

Anyway enjoy and this one is for: Alexis, LadyMarmalade100, Lucie Brody, Summerith, bfan2good4u, sammyjo5678, Doves30, OcObsessed, PrincessSparkle09, goldenflower, ItalHunni28, Mrs.AdamBrody, EVCLGSB, auggy1984, Svocfanatic, music4mysoul, Agel15 Kursk and DeuCe628 thanks for the reviews, this story wouldn't be her without you guys!

Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me; all the credit goes to Josh!

Seth walked down the hall to Bridget's room. He could hear noises inside so he assumed she was in there. Just as he went to open the door Jacob rushed out

"Dad! Bridget's really upset but she wont tell me why, I've gotta find Dylan so can you go talk to her?" Jacob told Seth somewhat alarmingly

"Sure" Was Seth's answer

He walked in and sat on the bed next to Bridget, who was facing the other way

"Hey Bridge, what's up babe?" He tried the easygoing friend technique first.

When he didn't get a response however he started to get worried. He didn't have much experience with kids, he didn't know what she could be upset about because he couldn't really remember much about being an 8 year old, but he decided to try another approach anyway

"Ok that's fine with me, you don't wanna talk- brilliant, cause you know me, I love to talk, I'll just talk and talk about anything really and I wont stop until someone makes me, which surprisingly does usually take quiet awhile…"

His rambling was cut short by Bridget turning around, she had a few tears rolling down her cheek, Seth gulped, he hated seeing people cry, he grabbed Bridget's tiny torso and wrapped his arms around her, she cried a little before finally speaking

"I'm s, s, sor, sorry Uncle Seth" She got out through the tears

"Why baby? You haven't done anything wrong" Seth's fear was calming down now, he had a feeling this was some kind of kid thing

"I know, I, I'm just sorry for c, crying" The sniffling was starting to die down now

"Why are you crying? What's wrong? You can tell me," He soothingly whispered

"Ever since yesterday when Jacob came home you've been hanging out with him and talking and playing with him and I've been left out. I know that you're his daddy but I still wanna be friends with you and Jay, I still wanna play wid you guys, you're my favourite Uncle and I want you to be my best friend not Jay's" She finished, putting her head down as if she was ashamed

Seth gave a sigh of relief and a little chuckle. He grinned before deciding to give some advice

"Bridget I love you so much and I always wanna be your friend and I'm sorry if I've been spending more time with Jay lately, but you gotta understand that Jacob is my son and the love I have for him is different to the love I have for you, not bigger or smaller, just different. Like your Dad- Ryan, he loves Jacob but he loves you like crazy cause you're his little girl. I love hanging out with you Bridge baby and I hope were still friends" Seth replied

She gave a little smile before replying, " Ok Uncle Seth, I love you too and I'm sorry for being stupid, I know that you loves me and Jay the same"

Seth gave her another hug and was about to leave when Jacob came in

"Hey Bridge, you feeling better" He asked politely

She nodded sheepishly

"Good cause Dylan started crying when I said you were sad, I don't know why though, he said he had something in his eye but when I looked I couldn't see nothing" Jacob said matter of factly

Seth grinned as he watched the two kids leave the room. He went back into the kitchen, laughing slightly. Marissa was sitting at the table

"What's funny?" She asked curiously

"I think that Dylan has a crush on Bridge," He said

"Yeah we kina figure that out when Dylan started sending letters to the house and addressing them to Bridget, Sum and I found one and it said and I quote 'Your so pretty Bridget, you're the nicest girl I've ever known, I hope we'll be friends for ever, Luv Dylan' She grinned as did Seth

"So anyway I talked to Bridget and I explained that I loved her just as much as I love Jay, it was so sweet you know and I just…my life is so awesome right now, with everything, well almost everything" He frowned

Marissa knew what he was talking about even though he was partially rambling, she looked at him and felt kind of bad for him, they had become closer since he returned and she wanted to be there for him as a friend.

She stood up and walked around the table to where he was standing. She wrapped her arms around him, he grinned and wrapped his arms around her, grateful for the comfort, and as they stood their embracing, Summer stood at the door watching intently, her expression darkened as Marissa broke from the embrace and kissed Seth on the check. How could she have been so stupid? She should have known that Seth wouldn't wait around for her forever, but Marissa? Summer was disgusted, that was her best friend and his brother's girl, how could he do this to them? The anger took over and she walked into the kitchen and slapped both Marissa and Seth on the face

"Summer! What the hell?" Marissa was pissed, how dare she? They were supposed to be best friends; she wondered what made Summer do that?

"I cant believe you Seth, I thought you were gonna wait for me, I thought you loved me, but the first chance you get you run off with my best friend and your brother's girl, that's low Cohen, real low" Summer's anger was almost at boiling point now, she felt as if she would exploded, some many emotions were going through her mind right now, hurt, betrayal, anger, this list went on

Seth was relieved, so relieved that he grinned, which probably wasn't the smartest idea, but he was relieved that it was only a complete misunderstanding and not anything he had supposedly done

"You've got it all wrong Summer, way wrong, I was just talking to Marissa about us and I got a little sad and then she hugged me, most likely cause she was feeling sorry for me and the kiss on the cheek was the same thing, come on Summer I would never do that to Ryan…to you, me and Marissa are just friends" Seth was adamant with his words

"Yeah Sum we'd never do that to you and Ryan" Marissa put her thoughts in too

Summer gulped and inwardly sighed, but now that she knew the truth she felt like a complete bitch for ever doubting them, she knew that they would never do that to her or Ryan and she had no idea why she even thought that, she had just been so stressed lately, she guessed all the events were finally taking their toll. She grinned at them and tried to hide her shame

"I am sooo sorry guys, I don't know what got into me, I hope you can forgive me," She pleaded with them

They both smiled and she knew the answer. Marissa left the kitchen and Summer sat down, deciding that now was the time to talk…

xxCassiexx


	18. Chapter 18 The Wisdom of a Child

A/N: Ok yeah I know that I haven't updated in awhile and for that I am really sorry; I've had so much random stuff going on lately. Yay Seth and Summer are finally back together again in Australia. This chapter is kinda…I don't know filler but yeah I'm just recovering from writers block and my headache.

_So this one is for: music4mysoul, Kursk, goldenflower, auggy1984, summerith, EVCLGSB, emogeek1, Seth Ezekiel, PrincessSparkle09, sammyjo5678, Svocfanatic, Doves30 and Summer-Breeze171. I wouldn't be writing this story if you guys weren't replying so thanks you all rock._

_Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me_

Summer sat down deciding that now was the time to talk. She looked at Seth, who was staring at her intently. She sighed and decided to make the first move; it didn't look like Seth would be speaking up any time soon

"I'm sorry" Was all that came out when she opened her mouth

"I told you its cool, it was just a misunderstanding" He assumed she was referring to the confrontation just minutes before

"I'm not talking about that Cohen," She told him

"Oh, what then?" Seth was slightly confused

"Last night" She confessed guiltily

"You didn't do anything wrong Sum, it was all me not you, last night was just so screwed up and I should be the one apologizing" Seth said, truthfully

"Thanks but no thanks, I shouldn't have promised you something that I knew deep inside I just wasn't ready for" Silence followed Summer's somewhat powerful statement

"Hey, don't even worry about it, I mean I shouldn't have pressured you into anything to soon" Seth tried to get Summer to realize it wasn't her fault

"You didn't Seth, I was the one who initiated everything not you, I just want you to know that I really care about you, and Jacob, god Jacob loves you to death and well I want you to know, and I'm talking way in the future here but yeah umm I really hope that one day me, you and Jay can be a real family" Summer finished strongly

It took Seth a second to decode all of Summer's ramblings but when he didn't he had to try hard to hide the grin that was threatening to appear on his face. He knew it, he just knew that he and Summer weren't over yet; maybe things really would work out for him for once in his life

"I've gotta get to work, I'll see you at dinner" Summer said, walking out of the kitchen and kissing Jacob on the head before walking out the door. As she pulled out of the driveway Luke's car drove up.

He rang the doorbell and Marissa ran downstairs to answer it. She let Luke in and he walked into the kitchen while she tried to find Dylan, Jacob and Bridget

"Hey Cohen" Luke smiled

"Hey Luke, picking up Dylan?" Seth questioned

"Yeah, hope he's been good" Luke mentioned swiftly

"Oh yeah, the kids have just been playing hide and seek and all those kids games" Seth told him, cheerfully

"Cool…." He paused for a second "I'm glad that Dylan has such a good mate in Dylan" Luke finished

Seth smiled "Yeah same, it's hard to find good friends around here"

"I know what you mean, I thought I had real friends but as soon as they found out about my Dad they ditched me, some friends ay" Luke smiled sadly

Seth grinned "Yeah"

"But it worked out good anyway I mean: Ryan, Summer, Marissa and you turned out to be the best friends I'd ever had" Luke said

"We had some good times hey" Seth's grin remained plastered on his face

"Yeah, yeah we did, sometimes I wish I was still 17, a teenager, nothing major to worry about" Luke told him wistfully

"You and me both dude, but I kind of got a wake up call last night I mean I just realized that its never gonna be like the way it was, we can try our hardest but it never will be"

"I hear that bro" Luke commented

Marissa walked into the kitchen with Dylan, Jacob and Bridget, ending Seth and Luke's conversation

"I found them hiding under your bed Seth" Marissa told them with a grin

Seth and Luke both laughed

"Hey man you ready to go?" Luke asked Dylan

"Ok, if we have to, Cya Jacob" He high fived him "Cya Bridget" His voice was shyer and nervous as he hugged the little girl

"Alright little Dude, were outta here cya guys" Luke said

"Cya" Seth and Marissa both replied

When the door shut behind Luke Marissa stood up "Alright who wants some lunch?"

"Me" Both the kids screamed in happiness

"Ok, what do we all feel like?" Marissa questioned them

"Can we get pizza? We haven't had it for ages" Bridget suggested

"Why not" Seth agreed

"Jay you want pizza?" Marissa asked him

"Yeah but I'm not having that yucky one like last time" Jacob told her, stubbornly

"We'll get you Hawaiian, isn't that what you like" She checked

Jacob nodded

"Can me and Jay share mom?" Bridget asked politely

"Sure sweetie, how about you guys go into the living room to play video games with Seth while I order and after lunch how do you feel about the park" Marissa told them

Screams of delight were heard from both the kids as they ran into the next room. Seth smiled at Marissa

"What?" She questioned him

"Your really good with them you know" Seth told her

"It's easy when your offering pizza and the park, anyway Ryan's gonna be home soon, you two can take the kids, I gotta go grocery shopping" Marissa exclaimed

"Sweet, call me if you need help" He offered

"Ok" Was her answer

He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where Bridget and Jacob were already sitting in front of the TV eagerly….

"Be safe, watch out for Bridget" Seth told his son protectively

"Yeah, keep close to Jay Bridge we'll be here if you need anything" Ryan added

The kids nodded before running off to the play equipment, Ryan and Seth sat down on one of the available benches, the place was packed with kids running around everywhere, in Seth's opinion there was like 10 kids for every one adult. It was kind of freaking him out for up until he had come back to Newport he had had no experience with kids at all.

"You guys come here often" Seth questioned Ryan

"Not really, Summer's usually busy so she cant take Jay and Marissa's always doing something or other, Luke takes them and Dylan sometimes and we do try and come when we get the chance" Ryan told him

At that moment a tall muscular guy approached the bench, Seth thought he looked scary but a smile appeared on Ryan's face when he saw who was coming

"Mike, how's it going? Long time no see," Ryan said, they shook hands and Seth stood up, suddenly feeling left out

"Ryan my man, been good, been real good how bout you?" Mike answered

"Yeah man, same here, ahh this is Seth by the way, he's Jacob's dad" Ryan told him

"Nice to meet ya Seth" Mike said, he shook Seth's hand and Seth had to admit he felt kinda intimidated by this guy

"Mike is Hannah's dad" Ryan filled in the blanks

Seth saw Mike wave to a small girl with short blonde hair who was playing with Bridget

"Ahh yes-Hannah, I'm pretty sure Bridget mentioned her to me" Seth told him

Mike smiled "Well I gotta go, you know, I gotta see a man about a dog and all that, come on Hannah"

They waved as Mike and Hannah walked away. Seth grinned at Ryan

"What?" Ryan asked him

"Nothing, its just I never thought I'd see the day when Ryan Atwood made small talk with fellow fathers" Seth told him

"Who Mike? Bridget and Hannah are in the same class is all, Mike's alright" Ryan said

"Yeah man I know its just weird is all, funny how things change….

The afternoon wore on and it was 5:30pm when Seth, Ryan and the kids left the park. As they all got into the car Seth watched Jacob from the front seat, his eyes were slowly drooping closed, and Seth thought he looked so cute. Jacob opened his eyes momentarily and smiled sweetly at Seth

"I'm so tired" He mumbled

"What's that?" Seth asked

"Tired" Jacob repeated

"Were almost home dude," Ryan told him

"Dad?" Jacob said

"Yeah"

"What time is mom getting home?" He asked

"I'm not sure man, I think Marissa said 6:30pm" Seth told him

"Ok…" He paused for a second "Are you gonna kiss her when she gets home?" Jacob questioned, innocently

There was an awkward silence before Seth answered "What? What do you mean?"

"Well when ever Aunty Maris or Uncle Ryan gets home they always kiss each other, why don't you and mommy ever kiss?" Jacob was quick to respond

"Well…it's ahh…complicated, your mom and I aren't… how should I put this, we aren't well…we aren't together at the moment" Seth told him as best he could

"Do you love her" Jacob simply asked the questioned Seth had been fearing

"Well I mean…yeah, you know I do" Seth answered truthfully

"Well she loves you as well so what's the problem?" Jacob asked

Seth paused for a second

"From your lips to God's ears Jay" Ryan said

"Huh?" Jacob wasn't really listening anymore

"Never mind" Ryan said with a grin

"So why aren't you two together then Dad? Said Jacob

"To be honest with you Jay, sometimes I really don't know" Seth supplied somewhat sadly…

A/n: Yeah I know kinda a happy place to leave it but yeah once again sorry for the wait hopefully next chapter will be up soon, I've written it on paper I just gotta type it up now. Hope you liked this one

xxCassiexx


	19. Chapter 19 The One You've Been Waiting F

_A/n: Sorry that this took a while but I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, sorry if it disappoints anyone. This is for: emogeek1, Svocfanatic, music4mysoul, Doves30, Kursk, Lucie Brody, PrincessSparkle09, piperleo4eva, warxx and EVCLGSB, Abby, DeuCe628, Cill and Seth Ezekiel. Thanks so much I wouldn't be writing this if you guys weren't reviewing. _

_Disclaimer: I claim no rights what so ever to The O.C!_

Summer was confused. She had so many different emotions that were threatening to spill out and she was finding it very difficult to just do nothing she knew that something would have to be done, she'd have to take action and soon. She just needed a sign, a sign to tell her what to do because she sure as hell had no idea what she wanted anymore. She was in her car, about 20 minutes away from home when her cell rang. She picked up immediately using her hands free set

"Hello Summer speaking" She said

"Hey Sum, it's Coop" Marissa's voice sounded in her ear

"Oh, hey Coop what's up?" She questioned

"Nothing major, Sandy and Kirsten were just on the phone and they wanna take the kids for the night, you know a little sleep over at the Grandparents, is that cool with you" She asked her

"Yeah sounds great" Summer answered

"And Me and Ryan are gonna take advantage of it and were going to dinner and then we'll do something else, so it'll just be you and Seth tonight, is that alright?" Marissa continued

"Yeah that's fine" Summer said nonchalantly

"Ok well I'll see you when you get home then" Marissa said

"Bye" Summer replied

She hung up and continued driving. Marissa's voice suddenly echoed in her head _"Just you and Seth" _and suddenly she snapped, that was her sign, that's what she had been waiting for, she grinned, finally knowing what she had to do…

* * *

As Summer pulled up outside the house she met Kirsten and Sandy, as they were about to enter. She said her hellos and let them go through the door with her, excitement pulsing through her body. She ran over to Jacob and kissed him on the head, telling him to be good for his grandparents. Once they had all left she rushed outside and into the pool house, she rummaged through a couple of draws and found what she was looking for- her sexiest pair of underwear.

She knew Seth couldn't resist her even if he was trying to do the right thing she knew he wouldn't pass up the opportunity Summer was about to present to him. She quickly undressed and placed the negligee on then put her jeans and top back over it. She casually walked into the main house and sat at the dining table next to Ryan and across from Marissa and Seth

"So change of plans Sum, me and Ry are gonna have dinner here and then were gonna go to the movies and maybe hit a club or something after that, you and Seth can come with if you want" Marissa told them

Seth opened his mouth but Summer jumped into the convo before he could say anything

"Thanks for the offer guys but I think me and Cohen will just stay home and watch a DVD or something" Summer responded

She shot a look at Seth

"Ahh yeah…what she said" Seth said, clearly confused

"Anyway I'm starved…let's eat" Ryan grinned eagerly…

Dinner was a quick and rather enjoyable meal. There was laughter and story telling and Summer finally understood why Seth wanted to go back so much, the four of them together had shared some really good times and it was almost like high school again as they all sat around the table reminiscing. Summer went up to Ryan and Marissa's room to help Marissa pick out an outfit etc and she told her exactly what she intended to do while they were gone

"Well good for you Sum, it's about time is all I'm saying, you two need a good long fuck, excuse the language" Marissa grinned

Summer laughed and chucked a pillow at Marissa

"What? We both know its true, you've been dying to get with him again ever since he walked back through that door" Marissa said, somewhat wisely

"Yeah you know what I kinda have I know I denied it but I just can't wait to be with him again…it's been wayyy to long"

Marissa giggled as Summer launched into a rather detailed account of what she expected to happen….

* * *

Seth and Summer stood at the door as Ryan and Marissa said goodbye. When they were gone Seth lay back on the couch and looked over at Summer, completely oblivious, completely innocent.

"So what do you wanna do now then?" He asked her

She walked over to the couch and sat next to him, placing her hand on his leg

"Well…I can think of one thing," She whispered seductively as she slid her hand further up his leg and Seth suddenly grinned

"Oh really?" He questioned

"Really" She confirmed

She pushed him down to the couch and took off her top to reveal a very revealing bra

"Summer…I…you" He started

"Shh" She whispered pressing her finger to his lips. She slowly slid out of her jeans and stood up so he could get a better look

"You…umm…look…wow!" Seth was almost speechless

"Seth, I know that everything is really screwed up and whatever but just for tonight I want us to pretend…pretend that everything is alright, can you do that for me Cohen?"

He nodded sheepishly. She went back down to him and lifted the novelty tee he had been wearing over his head. She placed her hands on his naked chest and started feeling…remembering. She helped him get out of his pants and finally he was down to just his boxers. She kissed him-passionately and hungrily on the lips. Her fingers lightly ran over the hem of his boxers.

He looked at her, silently questioning whether it was ok or not. She nodded and he undid the clasp on her bra. She grabbed his wondering hands and placed them on her bare chest. She let him caress her slowly and felt on her leg what she had been waiting for. She pulled off his boxers and he slid off her panties.

He flipped them over so he was now on top and slowly, gently he did what he had been longing to do for 8 years…he went inside her, slowly at first but faster as her moans of delight increased and at that very moment nothing else mattered but them, all they knew was that finally after 8 long years Seth and Summer were together again…

_A/N: This isn't the end, there are still are few more chapters to come

* * *

_

xxCassiexx


	20. Chapter 20 The Morning After

_So I'm sorry for the lack of updating that last chapter I just had a lot of stuff going on and really couldn't find that much time to get on. I'm not sure how many chapters left but not to many I'd say 5 or 6 max._

_Anyway this one is for: DeuCe628, Lucie Brody, auggy1984, emogeek1, Kursk, music4mysoul, ItalHunni28, PrincessSparkle09, Seth Ezekiel, Doves30, Svocfanatic, piperleo4eva, EVCLGSB, MaDdY- SpArKlEs and Cill thanks for reviewing you guys are great!_

_Disclaimer: Nothing to do with The O.C belongs to me

* * *

_

The soft light flickering on above them woke just one of the sleeping figures. He looked down, grinning widely at Summer lying next to him. He stood up and untangled himself from her, Marissa and Ryan had just entered the house and one of them was looking a little shocked

"What the…?" Seth cut off Ryan

"Shh" He silenced them, pointing to Summer "She's still asleep"

"What happened?" Asked a confused Ryan

Seth's grin grew as everything, every touch, every feel, every move, every moan and groan came rushing back, it was really real he and Summer had finally done it and boy was it good, mind you Seth had always enjoyed hot, emotion charge, long overdue, passionate sex

"Nothing bro, nothing at all" Seth answered slyly

Ryan shot him a disbelieving look

"We'll talk tomorrow morning or today whatever it is," Seth told him

"So she went ahead with it then?" Marissa finally spoke

"Say what?" Seth was a little shocked

"Well Summer may have mentioned something to me before we left, about what she had planned" Marissa told him matter of factly

"So hang on a second you mean to tell me that this whole time we were out you knew what was going down here and you didn't tell me?" Ryan was still recovering from the shock of it all

Marissa nodded, cheekily

"Well I for one am glad that I didn't know, I mean I definitely liked the whole element of surprise thing-very sexy" He grinned as Summer began to stir on the couch

"Were gonna go, you two might wanna talk or…stuff…eww mental image" Ryan laughed as she pulled him up the stairs

Summer rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Seth sat next to her, putting his arms around her waist

"Hey" Seth whispered quietly

"Hey" She replied

"How you feeling?" He asked her

"Pretty good, you?"

"Can't complain" He smiled

Summer grinned but a couple of seconds past awkwardly before…

"So…"

"So.." They both began at the same time. Summer laughed

"You go first" She told him

"Ok, I know that what we did was…confusing and surprising (well for me anyway) but I really don't want things to get weird between us just because of it" Seth said

"Neither do I, which is why I think maybe just for now we should keep this-us quiet" Summer said

"I agree…but Ryan and Marissa kinda already know, they walked in and figured it out, although somehow Marissa already knew" Seth played dumb

Summer grinned, guiltily

"Ok so just Ryan and Marissa know, but that's it, I don't think that we should tell Bridge and Jay just yet," She told him

"Yeah, that sounds good" Seth agreed

"Good" Summer said

"Good, so it's getting late we should get to bed" Seth started to wrap up the convo

"Ah huh" Summer nodded and yawned; she got up and started walking upstairs. Seth stared at her

"Are you coming or not?" She noted Seth's stare and added, "I mean unless you want me to go back to the pool house" She trailed off

"No way, lets go," He practically yelled

He grabbed her hand and led her to his room, the wide grin very evident on his face…

* * *

Morning dawned bright and hot as always, the sunlight reflecting off the windows cast a warm glow all over the house. Seth rolled over and fell awkwardly out of bed

"Ouch!" He yelled out in pain

Muffled giggling was heard from the bed

"Not funny Summer, that really hurt" Seth faked his injury

Summer laughed again before jumping off the bed and joining Seth on the floor

"Aww you poor baby, come here" She pulled him towards her but instead of hugging him like he imagined she brought their faces together and kissed him. After a short while he broke the kiss

"I've missed that so much you know," He told her

"Mmm me too" She mumbled

"Its hard to believe that were her, finally together again, you don't know how long I have wanted this" Seth mulled over the situation

"Actually… I think I do" She pulled him closer and once again kissed him, but this time he didn't stop, instead he picked her up and threw them both back onto the bed…

* * *

It was much later in the day when the doorbell rang. Content with being in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow of several hours of love making neither Seth nor Summer got up to answer it. Instead Ryan was the one to rush to the door. He opened it and found himself being instantly hugged by two small figures

"Daddy!" Bridget screamed

"Hey Uncle Ry" Jacob said much more coolly

"Hey guys" He replied

He let Kirsten and Sandy in as the two children ran upstairs intent on finding the others. The first room they reached was Seth's and upon hearing the excited screams Summer had rushed into the bathroom to get changed. Seth was standing naked from the waist up when the kids rushed in

"Dad!" Jacob yelled

"Uncle Seth" Bridget yelled almost as loud

He picked Jacob up and then after a hug did the same for Bridget

"How was your night?" He asked them

"Awesome, we stayed up late eating candy and watching movies. It was sooo much fun, did you miss us?" Jacob asked eagerly

"Yeah little man course we did, you guys had breakfast yet?" Seth asked

"Yep its like 11:30am, almost lunch not Breakfast durr," She told him

"Yeah well I just got up so come on lets go downstairs" He raised his voice for the last part to make sure Summer heard him

They exited the room and entered the kitchen, sitting on the stools almost immediately

"Where's Mom?" Jacob asked curiously

"Umm I think she taking a shower" Seth quickly provided the answer

"Oh k den, I'll wait for her in the pool house" Jacob said, unaware

"She's in the upstairs bathroom actually mate" Seth told him

"Why? She never uses that one" Jacob was confused

"Umm I think the pool house one is broken, yeah that's right and umm yeah she had to use mine" Seth finished easily

At that moment Summer came downstairs looking clean and fresh. The two kids ran up to her embracing her as she shot a grin at Seth

"Why are you up so late mom? You usually get up really early?" Jacob questioned

"Well I was tired, I felt like sleeping in, what time is it?" She asked

"Almost 12" Seth supplied

"Crap!" She yelled, taking Seth by surprise "I've gotta go, I'm late oh crap I cant believe I forget"

She rushed out of the room, Seth following close behind

"Slow down Sum, where you going?" He quizzed her

"Today is the wedding rehearsal, tomorrow is the wedding, I've gotta go Jeremy's gonna kill me" She fretted

"Ok, I'll see you when you get back" Seth said, disappointment evident in his voice

"Yeah cya then" She kissed him on the cheek, leaving the house as her mobile rang out

Seth sighed, there went his day, he was hoping to spend it with Sum, and he walked back into the kitchen, a sad sort of smile on his face.

A/N: I know weird place to end it, so anyway the return of the mysterious Jeremy, hope you guys enjoyed that chap I will try update as soon as I can

xxCassiexx


	21. Chapter 21 The Closure

_A/N: This is just a short chapter, now that this fic is coming to an end I felt that a couple of things needed some closure like the Ryan situation and the Jeremy situation, so this chap is basically tying up some loose ends, not much Seth but I hope you like it anyway._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Svocfanatic, music4mysoul, DeuCe628, emogeek1, Abby, ItalHunni28, Kursk, Doves30, PrincessSparkle09, Summer-Breeze171, charrr, and piperleo4eva you guys are the best._

_To Rachel, I'd just like to say that yes the two stories have the same storyline of Seth coming back from his trip years later but if you actually read this you would see there are many differences and if you don't like this story then please don't read it no one is forcing you to._

_Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me_

* * *

"**You have 5 new messages"**

**Beep..."Summer doll, its Jeremy where are you? Your never late, be here soon ok" Beep**

**Beep…"Me again, just wondering where you are, you should have been here by now" Beep**

**Beep…"Summer where are you? I cant believe that your 30 minutes late, are you trying to get me killed because you know what Kelly will do if…" Beep**

**Beep…"…If everything isn't ready by tomorrow, I'm freaking out ok just please be here soon" Beep**

**Beep…"I swear to god Summer if you are not here in exactly 5 minutes I am going to blow my stack, I will go crazy, please just please get here as soon as you can I am begging you" Beep**

Summer sighed as she deleted the last of Jeremy's messages. She liked Jeremy she really did, he was a nice guy just trying to make the big day for his girl as special as he could but sometimes he really did scare her with his constant calls, she was relived to say the least that after tomorrow she wouldn't have to deal with him ever again, she'd done her job and today once she'd made sure the clothes were right she was outta there.

She was sat on the edge of the crystal pool at the reception hall when Jeremy approached and sat next to her

"Hey" She greeted him

"Hi, so I just wanted to come over and thank you for all your hard work, I know I've been hard to put up with but I just wanted everything to be perfect, you've done an awesome job and I don't know what I can do to repay you I really don't, its been a hell of a long process and god knows I've put you through hell but I've had fun, you let me into your life and your home and I envy you I really do, you've got everything, an awesome house, great friends and family who'd probably die for you, I've loved meeting you your and amazing person Summer and that Seth is the luckiest guy in the world to have you" He finished his speech and pulled her into a hug

Summer sighed with relief for a second there she really thought he was going to an entirely different direction but now she was pretty sure that he only cared for her as a friend. She pulled away from him

"Thanks Jeremy, you're a really good guy and I'm gonna miss you" She said with a hint of dishonesty

He laughed knowing that the last bit was just her being nice, truth was he was sad that he'd probably never see her again after today and although he loved Kelly so would never do anything about it he was sure that a part of him did love Summer, she was amazing, how could you spend all that time with her and not fall in love? It was impossible.

She got up, waved at him and then left the building, out of his life forever…

* * *

When Summer got home that night it was past 10pm. She walked into the living room and found Seth and Jacob asleep on the floor, someone had put a blanket over them as they snuggled together, Summer smiled at the sight, she bent down and kissed both her boys on the cheek then closed the door softly and entered the kitchen, she sat down next to Ryan who was drinking what appeared to be coffee and reading the paper

"You just get in too?" She questioned him

"Nah I've been home for awhile but Bridge isn't feeling well so she's been up most the night" He replied

"Poor girl, hope its nothing serious" Summer was concerned

"Just a flu is all, how was your day?" He turned the conversation around

"Pretty good actually, this was my last day with Jeremy so that's a relief" She smiled

Ryan grinned

"What did Seth and the kids get up to? She asked curiously

"Umm they went for a swim, Seth was trying to teach them tricks, it was very amusing, then they crashed in front of the PS2," Ryan told her

"Sounds fun, listen I'm gonna head out to bed, Night Ry" She kissed him on the cheek and exited the house

Ryan sighed, not realizing that he was thinking similar thoughts to Jeremy's earlier ones, a part of him would always care about Summer deeply, though they had only lasted a couple of days Ryan had always cared for Summer anyway, she was such an amazing person and Ryan would protect her with his life.

He laughed to himself thinking that if someone had told him that he would be thinking about Summer this way he wouldn't have believed them, he had never imagined that he would bond with Summer so much, but it hit him when Seth came back that he loved her yes, but only as a sister, not in any other way, he loved Marissa and that's the way it would always be, Summer would always have a place in his heart but not the way Marissa did, it was completely different.

Ryan drained the rest of his coffee and went up stairs. He was happy, he had a great life and that was all he ever wanted

* * *

xxCassiexx 


	22. Chapter 22 The Accident

_A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating sooner but we went away for a few weeks and then when we got back I wasn't really in the mood for writing, so yeah I'm sorry about that._

_This one is for: DeuCe628, piperleo4eva, music4mysoul, Kursk, Summer-Breeze171, bfan2good4u, Riley313, PrincessSparkle09, Svocfanatic, EVCLGSB and Doves30 thanks so much for the reviews and I hope your still reading_

_Disclaimer: The O.C does not belong to me_

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon and Seth, Ryan and Sandy sat in the back yard, supervising the kids as they swam. Kirsten, Summer and Marissa were out shopping. Seth smiled inwardly to himself as Jacob called his name making sure he had seen his last trick. Everything was going so good for him at the moment, he had Summer, he had Jacob and he had his brother Ryan, Marissa and Bridget and even his parents. His only regret was not coming back sooner cause if he had things would be so much different, he and Summer would probably be married with a couple of brothers or sisters for Jacob. But he wasn't gonna waste time regretting things anymore, he had everything he wanted and nothing would ruin that.

Seth was brought back to earth by his Dad " Seth, Seth…your mobiles ringing. Ryan just ran inside to get it, where were you just now?"

"Sorry I was just thinking" He replied

"Well that explains the pained expression then," Sandy told him with a grin

"Ha ha your so funny Dad" Seth retorted

He stood up to walk inside as Ryan ran out, a frantic look on his face and keys in hand

"What's wrong?" Seth asked

"It's the girls, there's been an accident, there at the hospital we have to go now, quick get the kids out of the pool" He yelled at them

Sandy pulled he kids out and helped them get their clothes on as Seth and Ryan ran out to the car

"Are they ok? What happened? When was it?" Seth was feeling sick in the guts

"I don't know anything, it was Kirsten she said there'd been an accident and to come quick" Ryan replied

Seth nodded as Sandy and the kids hopped in the car. Ryan stepped on the gas. The ride was quick and silent, no one spoke, all were lost in there own dreadful thoughts. When they arrived at the hospital Seth grabbed Jacob and Ryan grabbed Bridget as they all ran inside. Marissa and Kirsten were sitting on the seats. Summer was nowhere to be seen. Seth's heart stopped he ran over to his mom and though he knew it may be selfish not to ask how she was, he had to know if Summer was ok

"Where's Summer?" He yelled at her

Kirsten looked at him pitifully

"Where the hell is she mom? Please just tell me I can handle it," He yelled again

Kirsten shook her head, tears in her eyes; it was obvious she couldn't go on. Seth put Jacob down and turned to Marissa

"We don't know anything yet, they took her in, she was awake but that's all we know, the doctor hasn't come out yet" Marissa told him, quiet calmly

Seth nodded

"She's gonna be ok Seth, you know Summer, she's a fighter" Marissa spoke once again

Marissa hugged him and he sat next to her. Jacob climbed onto his lap

"Is Mom gonna be ok Dad?" Jacob asked innocently

"I hope so little dude, I really do" Seth tried to stay strong for Jacob

He hugged his son tight, promising never to let go. A couple of minutes later a middle-aged doctor came out looking quite calm- a good sign? Seth didn't know

"Are you the family of Summer Roberts?" He asked professionally

"Yes" Seth answered at once "How is she?"

"She's doing ok, a few cuts and bruises, a broken arm but she should be fine, we'd like to keep her in over night for observation though" He told them all

Seth breathed a huge sigh of relief "Can we go in?"

"Yes but only one at a time" The doctor sternly replied

Everyone looked at Seth, so he put Jacob down and followed the doctor down the hall. As he entered the room, Seth's heart broke, he couldn't stand to see Summer like this, her face was covered in cuts and bruises and she was hooked up to several machines, he wiped the stray tear from his eye and approached the bed. He sat in the chair and grabbed he hand, she grinned under all the bruising

"Hey, how you feeling?…" He stopped "Well I mean, besides the obvious?"

"Don't make me laugh Cohen, it hurts," She reminded him, her voice was weak and hoarse

"Sorry…for everything" He told her, needing to say it

"Don't be, this wasn't your fault, it was the idiot driver," Summer said

"That's not what I meant Summer, I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry for questioning you, I'm sorry for every bad thing I ever did to you, you don't deserve this Summer, you're an amazing person, it should be me lying in that bed- not you, you don't deserve it" Seth was angry at himself

"Whoa Seth you don't deserve this either and calm down I'm gonna be fine, I promise…don't do this to yourself Seth, all that stuff is in the past and I don't wanna dwell on it, I just wanna be with you and Jay" She tried her hand at convincing him

"You really scared me Sum, I thought… I thought I'd never see you again and I thought that you were…that you were.." He stopped as Summer cut him off

"Stop it Cohen, I'm fine how many times do I have to say it" She asked him, almost pleadingly

"I know, I just don't ever wanna lose you, I love you too much for that" He told her

"I love you too Cohen" She replied

He leaned over and kissed her then, dropping down on one knee he said "Summer Roberts, I love you more than life itself, I knew from the moment I saw you that you were the one for me and although this is so not how I imagined doing this…will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

Tears ran down her bruised and battered face but yet you could tell she was smiling beneath it

"Yes! Yes of course I'll marry you!" She screamed as loud as she could

Seth jumped up and hugged her, he couldn't believe it, he was engaged to Summer Roberts the girl of his dreams, and He smiled

"I love you so much Summer," He told her

"I love you too Seth" She replied

* * *

_A/N: So this was the second last chapter, next one will most likely be an epilogue, I'm not good at writing weddings although I may put a bit of it in a flashback, who knows. Hope you liked it_

_xxCassiexx_


	23. Chapter 23 The Epilogue

_A/N: Sorry bout the lateness of this Chapter, I had a bit of trouble writing it, so yeah its not the best, some of you may be disappointed with the wedding flashback but that was the way this chap was going so I had to stick with it._

_I hope you guys have enjoyed this story, look out for more of my stories in the future, I've got two in the works, but I might take a break before posting._

_Anyway, thanks heaps to everyone who replied, you guys are the best and this story wouldn't be here without you guys, so thanks to: DeuCe628, EVCLGSB, PrincessSparkle09, kursk, SUMMERAN1, Riley313, Doves30, Nels6354, piperleo4eva and Little Ms.Vixen._

_Disclaimer: The O.C is not mine so please don't sue_

* * *

7 years later

"Dad! Can you please for the love of god tell Lucas to leave me alone!" 15-year-old Jacob Cohen screamed down the hall. He was sick of his younger brother running in and out of his room yelling about random stuff.

Jacob was the eldest of 5 kids. There was Lucas, who at 6 years old managed to annoy the hell out of Jay at least once a day. Then there was Melly (Melanie) who had just celebrated her 4th birthday. She was as cute as pie but boy did she have a pair of lungs. Next came Samantha (2 years old), the cutest little girl you had ever seen. Dad said that was because she looked like Mom but she disagreed saying she had Dad's eye and his cute little dimples (her words, not Jacob's) Then there was Liam, the youngest of the Cohen clan at just 10 months old. He complained about them a lot but really he did love his family

"Luke, get out man" Seth chuckled "cut him some slack Jay, he just wants to see his older brother"

"Yeah well I'm trying to work" Jacob shot at his Dad

"Bridget's on the phone by the way, but don't talk to long, dinner's in 10" Seth handed him the phone

"Thanks Dad" There was a pause "Hey Bridget"

"Hey Jay" He could hear yelling in the background, then a groan and "Jamie wants to say hi"

There was a muffled silence and then "Hi Jacob" Jamie's little voice rang out through the phone

"Hey Jamie, how's it hanging?" He asked the little guy

"I'm good, Dad say's that you and Luke and Melly and Sam and Liam and Uncle Seth and Aunty Sum are coming over tomorrow, is that true?" He asked his cousin

"Yeah man we'll be there," He stated simply

"Ok, Bridge is yelling at me so I gotta go, talk to ya soon Bye" He said

"Cya" There was silence and then "Hey again" He said to Bridget

"Sorry about that, you know what he's like though, lets just be thankful that Dave cant string together a proper sentence yet" She laughed, thinking of her youngest brother

"You know I love the Boys Bridge, how could I know, there my cousins," He told her

"Yeah I know, Mom says we were exactly the same at that age, but anyway I only rang to see if your absolutely sure you cant come tonight, you know that Dylan wants you there" She pleaded with him

"Three's a crowd Bridge, you and Dylan are all over each other lately and I really do not wanna watch you two making out all over the place," He told her plainly

"We so wont Jay" She shot back

"Yeah well all the same, Mom's cooking and I'll see you tomorrow anyway, tell Dylan I said hey, but I gotta go, ok?" He asked

"Ok, Cya tomorrow….bye" She whispered

"Bye" He replied, hanging up the phone and dropping it on his bed, he walked downstairs to find everyone already seated at the table

"What did Bridge want?" His mom asked as he took a seat"

"Just asking about tonight," He told her coolly

"You could have gone Jay," She said to him

"I didn't wanna watch them two making out all night, it weird, he's my best mate and she's like a sister to me" He told her

"We all thought you like Bridget actually….your not blood related so it could have worked" Seth butted into the conversation

"Like I said she's like my sister" Jacob replied

"Yeah well you can't forget that she was your first kiss" Seth said with a laugh

"Here we go again, why dad? Tell me why you always have to bring that up, we were what 8 years old?" Jacob said

"Don't even pretend like you don't remember Jay, it was at our wedding and I know you remember that…." Seth trailed off

**FLASHBACK**

The Bridesmaids were all dressed in beautiful blue dresses, the flowers were all lain out perfectly and after weeks of preparation the Newport wedding of the year was finally here. Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen were about to be married…Jacob dressed in a black suit with tie and all was standing next to Bridget, dressed in a cute blue dress, they were all set to walk down the isle, Summer finally entered the room in front of the church and the kids overheard her hurried conversation with Marissa-the maid of honor

"I cant believe this is actually happening Coop, this is like a dream, I still cant believe its real, I cant believe I'm about to marry Seth Cohen" She whispered

"Well believe it cause its happening, you've got nothing to worry about Sum, Seth loves you so much and you've got Jay and everything is absolutely perfect... plus you look so beautiful Cohen wont be able to take his eyes off you" Marissa told her with a grin

Summer laughed, "Thanks Coop, I love you"

"Love you too babe, now get out there" Marissa replied

The music started playing, Jacob took Bridget's hand and they walked down the isle together…

* * *

The service was beautiful and incredibly sweet, a lot of people cried (which Jacob didn't understand) but it was great, the limos had picked them up and now they were all gathered at Kirsten and Sandy's place for the reception, music, dancing and laughter could be heard from miles away. The bride and groom had just shared their first dance to Ryan Adam's Wonderwall, Jacob remembered his Mom mentioning something about it being special to them, something to do with dancing in Dad's room.

A couple of meters away from the dance floor, Bridget and Jacob sat under one of the tables, scoffing their faces with stolen chocolates, unaware that everyone could see them…

"This chocolates tastes weird" Jacob commented

"Duh, its got minty stuff in it, Mom told me we shouldn't eat it and Uncle Seth said the same" Bridget replied matter of factly

"I'm hungry, there was no good food, it was all icky grown up stuff" Jacob said

He pulled a face that made Bridget laugh

"I'm so glad that Aunty Sum and Uncle Set got married, I bet you are? Cause I guess this means that you got a real family now" Bridget told him

"Yeah dude, its awesome, my mom and dad are really happy, I mean I never seen mom smile so much since Dad's been back" He laughed "I remember one time I asked him why he was laughing and he said that mom's kiss tasted like chocolate"

Bridget suddenly dropped her handfuls of chocolates

"What?" Jacob asked confused

"Well Dylan tried to kiss me the other day, he said he wanted it to taste like Chocolate" She told him

"Well did it?" Jacob questioned

"Yuck Jay! I didn't kiss him, boys are icky"

Jacob grinned, "Yeah well girls have cooties"

"We do not!" She protested

"Yeah well there's only one way to find out," He told her

"How?" She paused realizing what he meant, "Oh, ok then, when I count to three, 1..2..3…"

She leaned in, as did Jacob, he could smell the mint on her breath as they got closer and then there lips mashed together in a perfect, slobbery kiss.

When she pulled back she said "Minty" before hopping up and leaving Jacob alone under the table…

**END OF FLASHBACK**

"Ok Dad, I get it me and Bridge kissed, big whoop, we were like 8, move on already" Jacob shot at his father

"I'm sorry son but that's a moment I will never forget and that I'll constantly remind you of" Seth told him, sending a grin Summer's way

"Great…just great" Jacob commented

"Daddy where was I then?" Melly asked innocently

"You weren't born yet sweetheart," He told her

"What's born mean?" She asked

"Something that I'll explain to you when your older babe" Summer cut in before Seth said something stupid

"Ok" Melly replied

"Well eat up kids, before it gets cold" Seth said

* * *

The next day the Cohen's were gathered at the Atwood's place, which just happened to be only a couple of streets away. The kids were scattered all over the house, Jacob and Bridget in her room, Lucas and Jamie in the lounge and Melly, Sam and David out in the backyard, while baby Liam was upstairs sleeping. All the adults were out back; Ryan and Seth round the BBQ

"Jay told me that you brought up the wedding kiss again, you know he hates it" Ryan reminded him

"Yeah I know, but I don't get it man, its weird, Sum thinks that he still likes Bridget, but Jacob said he's freaked out that there like 'cousins' even though they aren't blood related" Seth told him

"Well Bridge seemed happy with Dylan, but they broke up yesterday and she didn't even seem upset infact she seemed relieved, Marissa thinks she likes Jay as well" Ryan filled Seth in

"Yeah well I reckon they'd be cute together," Seth said

Ryan raised his eyebrows and gave Seth one of his trade-mark looks

"Yeah ok, it might be a little weird but hey you can't help who you fall for right?" said Seth

"Right" Ryan agreed

Seth grinned, his life was so perfect and he had never been happier, he occasionally thought about how things would have turned out if he hadn't left all those Summer's ago but he knew now that he couldn't change the past, he could only alter his future and right now- he was happy with where his future seemed to be taking him.

Ryan brought Seth back to earth

"..we've gotta go upstairs and get Bridge and Jay man, Sum and Maris are setting the table" Ryan said

They walked upstairs and didn't bother to knock as they entered Bridget's room….however what they found wasn't expected; Jacob and Bridget were lying on her bed making out. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks, but Seth just laughed, they had said they'd deal with those things when they came and now that they had Seth knew there'd be a repeat of his holy awkward encounter with his own dada after his and Summer's 'fish sex' but he knew they'd get through it, because they were a family, and that was all anyone ever needed. Seth got it now, no they weren't anything like the way they once were but frankly-this was better.!

The End

xxCassiexx


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